When The War Was Over
by missgrant
Summary: Sequel to "Welcome Back to Scanra" - Kel has returned to Corus, recovered and ready to sort her life out. But what awaits her back in the capital? Love? Or does fate hold other ideas for our Lady Knight?
1. Home From War

**I'm back! This fic follows on from my previous one "Welcome Back to Scanra" - if you haven't read that one, then this one will probably make more sense if you do.**

**I'm not sure yet where this story is going to go, but that's half the fun surely? :oP**

**As ever, I own none of the characters you recognise. I'd be rich and living in a mansion if I did.**

1

"Look sharp lads, party coming through! Open the gates!"

The shouted command made Dom change course, heading towards the palace gates and not the stables as he was planning.

"Who is it?" he asked someone nearby. The war with Scanra had been over for almost a year now, but knights and companies were still trickling back in from the front lines.

"Dunno, Sarge. Some knight and a small company. Back from the desert by the looks of the dust on 'em."

Dom nodded absent-mindedly, trying to think of which knights had recently been posted out to Bazhir lands. There was no war there, but bandits were ever a problem and a constant military presence was required. The Crown made sure to rotate the warriors every few months to avoid boredom and jealousies becoming a problem.

The noise of hooves was thunderous as the company rode through the gates. They came to a ragged halt and began to dismount as stable hands rushed to take their horses. There was indeed a lot of dust billowing in the gusty day both from mounts and men, stinging Dom's eyes and making him cough.

When his vision cleared somewhat, he found the knight who had been leading the company standing in front of him.

"Sergeant Domitan," the knight said, with a broad grin.

Dom bowed, a little confused as to who he was addressing. As he straightened up, the knight had removed their helm revealing tousled, sweaty brown hair tied back in a short horsetail. A pair of sparkling hazel eyes looked up a couple of inches into his own.

"Kel!" Dom said in delight. "Lady Knight, it's been too long!" He bowed again.

Keladry of Mindelan laughed. "It has! It's good to see you Dom."

He rubbed the back of his neck, feeling suddenly awkward. "If I'd known you were going to be dashing off to the Bazhir, I'd have made sure to get to New Hope in time to see you off. As it was I think we missed each other by a week or two."

"Oh…" Kel looked fleetingly embarrassed before her face became carefully impassive. "Well, we were being cleared out of New Hope and the options were to return to Corus, or bandit duty with the Bazhir…"

"Never one to miss bashing some manners into bandits, eh Kel?" smiled Dom.

"To be honest, I welcomed the change of scene after…"

She didn't finish the sentence but Dom knew what she meant. The business with Maggur in Scanra. He had been present at her rescue and had seen her afterwards at Steadfast. Dom remembered how gaunt and pale she had been. How her hazel eyes had been haunted. He _had_ meant to go and see her once she was back at New Hope, busy turning the refugee camp into a bustling town. Third Company and desperate Scanrans had different ideas, keeping him occupied until Kel had already left New Hope to go and stay with the Bazhir for a few months.

The change _had_ done her good, Dom admitted. Meathead had written to him, letters filled with concerns over how thin and wan she had become in the weeks following her rescue. There was no sign of that now – the Lady Knight that stood before him was as broad and powerful as ever; her face liberally sprinkled with freckles and deeply tanned. Glints of almost blonde were apparent in her untidy hair, bleached by the sun no doubt.

"Dom?" Kel raised an eyebrow at him and he realised he'd been staring at her, not saying anything.

"Sorry, was just thinking…your hair's got longer."

"Oh…" Kel scrunched up her nose and pushed her fringe out of her eyes. "I think it's the heat, I've never known it to grow so quickly. First thing…after a bath and a good nap, mind you…first thing I'm doing is hunting down the palace barber."

"Hmm, maybe you should keep it. It suits you."

Was that a _blush_ creeping over the Lady Knight's cheeks? Dom rather thought it was.

"I've had short hair since I was ten, I've forgotten what I look like with it any longer than my ears," she muttered. "Mind you I suppose ten years is a long time to have the same haircut."

An uncomfortable silence fell over the two of them as they realised they were standing discussing hairstyles with each other.

"I'd, er, better…"

"Yeah and I've got to…"

"Nice to, erm, see you…"

"Yeah, yeah you too…"

"See you then…"

"Yeah, um, catch you later…"

Dom walked away, but only got a few steps before he turned back to stare at Kel's retreating back. Seconds later she glanced over her shoulder, met his eyes, tripped on an uneven flagstone and resumed walking without glancing back again.

Shaking his head, Dom shoved his hands into his tunic pockets. He needed to have a talk with someone. A certain Meatheaded cousin of his…


	2. Feeling Lost

2

Kel had no sooner stepped into her chambers when the door flung open again, clattering noisily against the wall.

"What the…" Kel's surprised exclamation was cut off as a small tornado hit her in the stomach, forcing the breath out of her in a woosh.

"Yer back! Milady's back!" A small, flushed face grinned up at her beneath a shock of blonde hair.

Kel laughed. "You missed me then, Tobe?"

The boy nodded fervently. "Don' get me wrong, Lady Daine's nice an' all an' she's been showin' me lots of stuff with the horses an' Stefan is funny an' alright too an' it's great havin' Loey an' the others with me but…" His smile was so wide Kel half thought his face would split in two. "None of them are _you_!"

Feeling a little embarrassed but extremely touched, Kel gently untangled Tobe's arms from around her waist. She had sent him and some of the other orphaned youngsters back to Corus with Neal, while she had taken the post out in Bazhir lands. Tobe had protested loudly at first, reluctant to let her out of his sight again, but the promise of training with the Wildmage on the healing and care of horses had finally won him over.

Seeing him, Kel thought she had made the right decision. He seemed to have grown in the last few months, looking more like a young man than a runty boy. He was wearing clothes for rough work, speckled with horse slime and hair, but had a new air of confidence about him.

"Jump'll be pleased to see you as well, Milady!" Tobe was saying, his sharp blue eyes inspecting her as she was him. Kel had sent her dog back as well, feeling that as he approached his twilight years, he deserved a slightly easier life. "Daine's been treating him fer his arthritis an' he's almost good as new!"

"I can't wait to see him either," Kel smiled, though it was tinged with sadness. She knew Jump could not have much time left with her. Her original sparrow flock were now all gone, though the fledglings were as loyal to her as their parents. Peachblossom was getting slow; she knew soon she would have to put him out to pasture. Still, her new riding horse that she had acquired while with the Bazhir was young and fast - Hoshi had been gone for almost a year now, killed in the ambush that had taken her to Scanra…

She shuddered inwardly, forcing the memories away. They came upon her much less now and she rarely dreamt of it anymore, but at times Kel found it hard to believe she had come through the other side of it as whole as she had.

Now new worries were pressing constantly on her mind. The Crown had tried to offer her New Hope as the start of a new fiefdom. She had refused politely, not feeling ready to be taking on such a burden. A small sense of guilt had played on her mind – surely she owed the people there her protection still? And what if they got a lord who was cruel to them?

The guilt had been eased when she learnt that Merric had stepped up to the post. The townspeople had been fairly satisfied with that, though Fanche had said loudly that "second-best would have to do for them". Kel had had to spend a long time calming Merric down.

Still, it had not been with a clear heart that she had ridden off to the Bazhir with a small company of men she hardly knew. The desert had calmed her somewhat – that and harrying the bandits that threatened innocent people on a daily basis.

It couldn't last forever though and here she was, back in Corus, surrounded by familiar faces everywhere she turned – people who had probably heard the stories of her antics, blown out of all proportion. The war was over.

The war was over, but she was still a knight with knight's duties. Kel realised, with a sinking feeling, that this probably meant attending a lot of balls and parties in the near future, held by the crown as they drew up peace treaties with Scanran lords. What she would really relish would be some time to herself to get her head sorted once and for all.

She was twenty now. Twenty and a knight with a fierce reputation under her belt. Twenty and one of the most talked about people in Tortall. Twenty and feeling increasingly out of place. Things were changing rapidly around her and Kel could not help but feel a little lost.

_Stop feeling sorry for yourself_, she told herself angrily. _It's only because you saw Dom…of _all_ the people you could bump into when you got back to the palace. A more awkward conversation I don't think I've ever had…that damned letter…and stupid Meathead, why for once could he not keep his big mouth shut?_

"Milady?" Tobe was looking at her strangely and Kel realised she had been lost in thought. "Are you all right?"

She smiled at him. "I'm fine, just tired. We had a long ride today. I'm off to the baths and then to the mess hall. Is Sir Nealan about do you know?"

Tobe nodded, "In residence with his bride-to-be Milady and all a fluster about his upcoming wedding."

_Oh crumbs, I'd forgotten about that!_ Kel pulled a face at the thought of being involved in wedding plans. "Do me a favour if you're not too busy? Tell Neal that if he's available, I'd like to see him. In private."

Tobe nodded and ran to do as he was bid.

Gathering up clean clothes, Kel was about to make her way to the women's baths when something fluttered to the floor.

It was the letter. It must have fallen out of her breeches pocket. Kel picked it up – the paper was creased and dirty, almost falling apart, testament to having been read numerous times.

She read it again now, with Dom still fresh in her mind's eye.

_Dearest Kel._

_Meathead told me that you liked me. I'm a little confused that you've never said anything before. I just want you to know I'm not avoiding you; the Own has been busy at the moment. Still, it's given me time to think. We should be passing through New Hope soon. It will be nice to see you again. I hope you're well. While I'm there, we should have a talk._

_Best wishes,_

_Dom._

But he had not come to New Hope and they had not spoken about it. Kel sighed and tucked the letter away in a drawer of her desk. That was all she needed. More awkward conversations.

She trudged off to the baths.


	3. Argument

3

Dom actually backed up a pace in the glare of the blazing green eyes before him.

"Now, Meathead, let's not overreact…"

"_Overreact?_ You come waltzing in here, with this little gem of information and you're telling me not to _overreact?_"

Dom licked his lips nervously. This was daft. This was his cousin he was speaking to. Neal! He'd never been scared of Neal in his life.

His heels met the wall behind him.

"I don't think she's going to react as badly as you think, I mean…"

Neal slapped a hand to his forehead. "Of course she's not going to in front of _you_, you imbecile! But who had to pick up the pieces last time Kel threw a wobbly? Me, that's who! My jaw's never been the same, listen you can even hear it click when I do this –"

Dom winced. "Too much information, thank you." He couldn't help but raise a shaky hand to his own jaw. "I've never seen Kel mad before."

"Nor had I until after her little episode in Scanra. She was a mess Dom. This post with the Bazhir was supposed to do her good and let her clear her head a little. But if you…" Neal rubbed his temples wearily. "She doesn't need this. Not now."

"You're not giving her credit, Neal. Kel's strong. Besides it's not as if…I mean nothing's happened."

"And that would have been fine if you hadn't sent her that blasted letter!"

"I wouldn't have done if you hadn't blurted out her little secret to me!"

"I only did it because I thought…oh, what's the point of arguing over this anymore? It's not going to change anything." Neal sighed. "You'll just have to tell her straight. And soon."

"But you just said she didn't need…"

"Hanging it out will only make it worse. You can't leave her in suspense, Dom, it's not fair."

Dom sighed. Neal was right. He was being a coward otherwise. He had to speak to Kel.

There was a knock at the door. Both of them froze.

"Sir Nealan?" a familiar voice drifted through, breaking Neal out of his stupor. He strode over and flung the door open.

Tobe stood there, hands on his hips.

"How long have you been there?" demanded Neal. Dom thought that was a little unfair, but he had to admit Tobe did have a habit of listening at doors.

The boy only shrugged. "Not long. Milady Kel sent me to tell you she's back."

"I know," said Neal, glaring at Dom.

"Well, she wants t'see you. Privately," Tobe expanded, raising an eyebrow.

Dom felt his heart miss a beat. "Neal…if she asks you…"

"Oh, don't worry Masbolle. I'm not going to be the one to do your dirty work for you."


	4. Coming Clean

**Sorry for the delay peoples however, as ever, work commitments are restricting my writing flow. **

**So, hopefully this chapter will clear up a few confusing points left by the last one. This story is not going to be as "action-packed" as WB2S...at the moment anyway. It may all change before long. Muahaha!**

**Oh and by the way *whispers* these characters ain't mine. I has borrowed them, innit bruv!**

4

She was in the process of running a comb through her damp hair, when there was a sharp rap on her door.

Kel opened it and was pulled into a tight hug.

"You smell nice for someone who's been living in a tent for the last four months!"

"Good to know almost being married hasn't robbed you of your ability to flirt with anything vaguely female, Neal," Kel said, smiling as she extracted herself from her friend's embrace. "I've just come back from the baths if you must know."

"You always know how to tease a man, Mindelan," Neal grinned at her, his green eyes mischievous. "It's nice to see the Protector of the Small gracing us with her presence once more. We've missed you."

"I've told you not to call me that, Meathead," she said, mock sternly. "Besides, I have to make sure you behave yourself in the run up to your big day."

Neal shuddered slightly. "It's Yuki you have to worry about, not me. I thought Yamanis weren't supposed to get emotional. She's been impossible ever since we set a date for this gods-cursed wedding."

Laughing, Kel invited him in and received the latest news from his own life and that of the capital while she had been away. It was good to see him again and Kel started to relax about the idea of settling into the routine of being a peace-time knight for a while.

There was one question that was nagging at her though.

"So…" she started, once Neal had exhausted his supply of gossip. "Have you spoken to Dom much, at all?"

Kel didn't expand; Neal of all people should know what she meant by this. It was him, after all, who realised she held a special affection for Dom in her heart. And it was Neal who had opened his cakehole and told Dom all about it. They'd only had two blazing rows in the ten long years they'd been friends and the second one had been about this.

So she was not totally surprised that he went strangely quiet and looked awkward.

"Not much," Neal muttered. "I haven't really seen him that much. Not really. So…no."

Kel gave him a suspicious look. "Really? So you haven't spoken about…you know?"

"No!" Neal's eyes flew open wide and he ran his hand through his hair like he always did when he was agitated or nervous. "Not-not at all!"

Her suspicion grew. "Neal, what's wrong? What aren't you telling me?"

"Nothing! Why would I not be telling you anything?"

Kel didn't reply. She simply folded her arms and looked at him. In a waiting contest, Neal would always be the one to break first.

His cheeks reddened under her firm gaze and he looked away. "Look, Kel…it's not my place to say anything. You should go and talk to Dom."

"Ok." Kel didn't like the way this sounded. Still, maybe it would be best to get any awkwardness out the way as quickly as possible. "I'll go and speak to him after supper. He's quartered with the Own still, right?"

xxx

Shuffling the last of his papers and putting them to one side, Dom yawned and stretched, pushing his dark hair away from his face. He had finished his paperwork for the week and was ready for a good night's sleep.

Not that he'd thought he'd get any, after his little spat with Meathead. Dom had done nothing but worry after that conversation. Still, there wasn't much he could do about it at the moment, so he'd put his energies into finishing his work off instead.

He decided to visit the men's baths before bed, to help him relax. Gathering his things, Dom opened the door and walked straight into the person on the other side.

"Ouch!"

Kel rubbed her forehead where his nose had bounced off it. "Sorry," she said. "If you're off somewhere, I'll…I'll come back later...it wasn't important…"

For a moment he froze. Kel was the last person he wanted to see right now and the person he most needed to speak to. After a moment's indecision, Dom cut through her ramblings.

"Come in Kel. I need to have a chat with you anyway."

She smiled and nodded, but looked very unsure as she entered his rooms. He gestured to the chair at his desk, perching himself on the edge of the bed as she sat down.

Dom looked at her carefully. Her face was carefully blank now and only by looking closely at her hazel eyes did he detect any emotion. What that emotion was he couldn't say.

"Kel…you know what this is about, right?" Dom said, feelingly foolishly like a schoolmaster explaining something to a pupil.

Kel nodded again, her eyes studying him intently. Dom took a deep breath before he chickened out.

"Neal shouldn't have said anything to me. And maybe I shouldn't have said anything to you. Still, it's been done and I feel I need to be fair to you…"

Silence. Dom could _feel_ her listening to him.

"I like you Kel. A lot. But not, I think, in the same way you like me. You're my friend and a warrior I would choose to have at any moment at my side in battle, but…I don't think of you…romantically."

His words fell into the quiet room like lead blocks. Kel's face had not changed.

Dom tried a smile. "You'd be mad to be with me anyway. I'm not ready to leave the Own, which means a proper relationship is out of the question for me anyway. Besides, I'm ten years older than you; you could do with someone closer to your own age."

He saw her throat move as she swallowed, but she still did not say anything.

"Kel? I am sorry. You're a great girl, you really are. One day a man is going to be lucky enough to say he belongs to you. I can guarantee you're going to break a lot of hearts when that happens." Dom smiled again, but he was cringing inwardly at his pathetic words.

Finally she moved, shifting position in the hard chair.

"Thank you, Dom, for being honest with me." Kel's voice was quiet and even. "And I would like it if we could stay friends after this…if you want to, that is?"

"Of course I do!" he exclaimed, shocked she could even think that. "I'll always be your friend Kel, nothing will ever change that…I'm just sorry…"

Her smile looked as forced as his had been. "Don't be. It's fine. To be honest, it was a bit of a silly crush anyway."

And even though he _knew_ he was being stupid, a little bit of Dom was hurt by that remark. _A silly crush?_

But as he thought that, he looked properly at her passive face once more and realised why she'd said it.

"Kel…"

"Well, I'd best go to bed. I'm exhausted after travelling all day and I'll bet there's no rest for the wicked tomorrow, there never is in this place, someone is always after something and anyway, I should probably get myself into some kind of training regime again or I'll end up a desk knight like Sir Myles…" Kel took a deep breath and stood up. "I'll see you sometime, ok?"

And before he could add anything else, she walked briskly out of the door.


	5. Big Surprises

**A big thanks to my reviwers, especially "Spazzysassyangel" who has stuck by through thick and thin (lol) and "Deets1" - your reviews crack me up and thanks for being so lovely! :o)**

**Well, here's the next installment...poor Kel, I am very mean to her generally! But I always get slightly annoyed that people assume Dom is always going to reciprocate her crush when we're never given more than a hint of how he feels.**

**Well, on with the motley. As ever, I don't own these characters.**

5

The next morning found Kel up at her usual time, before dawn. She did a vigorous workout with her new glaive – a twentieth birthday gift from her parents. Then she saw to Peachblossom, giving him a thorough grooming and a well-deserved apple, before saddling her new riding horse, Arashi.

The mare was iron grey, the colour of clouds on a stormy day. She was one of the delicately boned "children of the wind", much prized by the Bazhir. She was tall for a Bazhir horse, suited to Kel's height and weight.

Kel rode out to some open land at the back of the palace and let Arashi have her head. Snorting, the mare soon lengthened her stride into a gallop, while Kel leant forward into the rushing wind, enjoying the crisp spring air that blew through her hair.

Finally, reluctantly, she drew in the reins and slowed Arashi down to a walk; cooling the mare down as they made their way back to the palace. Kel had enjoyed the solitude this morning, something she knew would disappear as soon as she stepped foot back in the now-awake palace. The sun had been steadily climbing in the sky.

She had slept surprisingly well, considering. The travelling had worn her out. But waking up that morning had been a trial – she had remembered that she was now a slightly aimless peace-time knight who had just been unceremoniously dumped by her crush.

_Not dumped,_ thought Kel, _You have to be actually courting someone to be dumped._

Gloom settled on her. The thing she was most cross about, if she was being honest with herself, was not that Dom had rejected her. She knew from experience that crushes did not always like you back in the same way – her infatuation with Neal as a page was proof of that. She also knew how fickle emotions could be.

No the thing she was angriest about was her own reaction to it.

_Was this how Cleon felt when he realised we couldn't be together anymore? Gods, it must have been worse for him…we were actually having a relationship. I'm so glad I never had to tell him the truth about how I felt, that I'd stopped loving him._

The thought made Kel wince. She had forgotten about that. And now guilt added to her already miserable mood.

Her usual Yamani trick of picturing herself as a calm lake was just not doing it this morning. Kel's face was creased into a scowl as she re-entered the palace gates and guided Arashi to the stables. Working quickly, so no one had time to come up and talk to her, Kel brushed down, fed and watered her horse before skulking back to her rooms.

It was not to her pleasure, then, that she opened the door to find visitors waiting for her. Yukimi, Neal's Yamani betrothed was carefully rearranging Kel's lucky cats on the dresser, while Lalasa – Kel's one time maid and friend – carefully refolded clothes that Kel had hastily thrown into the bottom of her cupboard when she had 'unpacked' the night before.

Sighing inwardly, Kel hastily smoothed the frown from above her eyes and plastered what she hoped was a welcoming smile on her face. She hadn't seen Yuki for almost a year and Lalasa for two.

Her ex-maid shrieked when she saw Kel had entered the room and flung herself at the tall knight.

"Oh! My Lady! It's so good to see you again and safe after all the terrible things that have been happening!" Lalasa hugged Kel tightly before releasing her and curtseying. It was only then that Kel noticed her friend's usually plump figure had gotten much plumper in a certain place.

"Lalasa! You're having a baby!" cried Kel, her eyes widening. "You never mentioned that in your last letter! When are you due?"

"In two months' time now. I was going to write to you and tell you the news, but when I heard you were coming back, I thought I'd make it a surprise!" Lalasa's cheeks were glowing with pride and her dark eyes sparkled.

"Well, congratulations to you. And to Gethin as well." While Kel had been away, Lalasa had written to her about the man she had been courting and eventually married – a gentle baker who had a shop on the same road as her. While working as a maid for Kel, Lalasa had made it no secret that she wanted nothing to do with men after being abused when she was younger. Now, it seemed, she had found exactly the person she needed to finally make her happy.

"Well, he did do half the work I suppose," Lalasa said wickedly, a mischievous glint in her eye.

Yuki, who had been silent until now, popped her fan open and hid a giggle behind it. She looked radiant in a pale green outer kimono, patterned with willow leaves, over a rust red inner kimono. She put her hands flat on her thighs and bowed to Kel.

"Lady Knight. It is good to see you well and back."

Kel bowed back in the same way. "And you Yuki. I hear plans for the wedding are progressing well. How's Neal been behaving himself?"

Yuki's eyes creased at the corners in a smile. "As well as can be expected. You know he's got a flair for dramatics. I could never take him back to the Islands. He would be thrown out for bad manners before you could say 'lotus blossom'."

As Yuki paused and studied Kel, the young knight had to wonder how much Neal had told his future wife about their antics on the border and in Scanra. More to the point, Kel wondered how much Neal had told Yuki about her and Dom.

She didn't get to find out as Yuki continued, "Speaking of the wedding, now you're back I'd like to ask you something. I wanted to wait until I saw you in person before I did."

"Sure, go ahead."

"Will you be my maid of honour?"

Kel stared for a moment. "Me? Are you sure?"

Yuki gave a small smile. "Of course. You're one of my closest friends and my future husband's best friend. Neal wanted to ask you to be best man, but I managed to persuade him that Dom would be a better choice, as his cousin. Why should Neal always get first pick after all?"

The mention of Dom's name sent Kel's mind into a miniature panic, before she realised that even a Yamani like Yuki could not know anything about their problems and sound so casual.

Returning to the present predicament, Kel protested, "But surely you want someone more…I don't know. What about the Yamani ladies?"

"Bridesmaids, of course. They all support my decision. I'm not taking 'no' for an answer, by the way Keladry." A bell chimed in somewhere in the Palace. "I need to go now, Her Highness will be waiting. Are you around for a game of fan toss after lunch?" Before Kel could even open her mouth, Yuki continued. "Good. After our game, we can discuss practicalities of the wedding. It is only a few weeks now and we still need to get your dress fitted."

And suddenly the reason Lalasa and Yuki were in her room at the same time dawned on Kel.

"But…"

"I must go, I shall see you after lunch in the practise courts, Keladry! Goodbye Lalasa."

As Yuki bustled off, Kel turned helplessly to see Lalasa waving a tape measure at her with a grin on her face.

"Me making your clothes again, My Lady. It's almost like old times!"

Kel gave a defeated sigh. _If only it was old times,_ she thought to herself. _If only._


	6. Duel

**Wow they were certainly some quick reviewing responses! Thanks guys!**

**And if by magic I've managed to bash out another chapter! Hope you enjoy (unfortunately not a scene about the fan toss game I'm afraid. I'd already started writing this when I got your review!)**

**Enjoy! :o)**

6

_Two weeks later._

Parrying the sword thrust aimed at her middle; Kel whipped her blade around and swung at her opponent's neck.

He was quicker than she anticipated, knocking her sword aside and feinting.

Kel feinted back and blocked his next attack, before jabbing forward with all her strength, driving the blade into his shoulder.

"AAAAAAAAAaaaaowwwwch! Not so hard!"

Stepping back to get her breath, Kel wiped the sheen of sweat from her forehead. "Oh, stop being such a wimp, Queenscove. You need to keep your blade higher. Didn't the Lioness teach you that?"

"If you hadn't noticed, the Lioness is a midget. I didn't need to keep my sword so high when practising with her." Neal winced, feeling the bruise on his shoulder where Kel's wooden practise blade had hit him. "You're a bloody minded savage, have I ever told you that?"

"Probably," shrugged Kel. "Best out of three?"

Grimacing, Neal agreed, albeit reluctantly.

They circled each other.

"So how's the bridesmaid stuff going? Yuki said you didn't like your dress."

Kel wrinkled a nose as she swung at him. Neal managed to dodge, barely. "The dress is fine. It's me _in_ the dress that's the problem."

"How so?"

Kel paused, casually knocking aside an enthusiastic thrust from Neal. She wasn't quite sure how to explain to him that, as lovely as the pale pink kimono-like dresses looked on the Yamani ladies who were also Yuki's bridesmaids, they did nothing for Kel. The Yamanis looked like delicate blossom petals gliding gracefully on a summer breeze. Kel had decided she looked more like the blossom tree – large and wooden. The shoes which went with the dress had been the final straw. Kel had been elected to pick them up from the shoe-makers; they had been displayed on a shelf, dainty silk slipper after dainty silk slipper until the last pair which appeared to belong to a shire horse.

"The colour doesn't suit me," she replied eventually as they feinted at each other. That was also true. Pale pink complemented the skin tone of the Yamanis perfectly. It just succeeded in making Kel look rather jaundiced.

"Well, I'm afraid you're going to have to lump it." Neal was a little out of breath, narrowing his eyes as he considered the next best way to attack her. "Yuki's on the warpath."

Kel nodded, anticipating his next move and dodging aside easily. "I know. It's only for one day after all. I can live with a little humiliation."

"That's good," said Neal, circling once more. "Because you realise that you're going to have to dance with Dom, don't you?"

"_What?"_

She didn't see Neal's triumphant move until it was too late. His wooden practise blade jabbed her in the ribs, winding her momentarily.

"Yes! Finally the mighty Mindelan yields to Queenscove the Magnificent!" Neal held his sword high and did a quick victory lap of the indoor practise court.

Kel swore breathlessly, rubbing her ribs until she felt able to stand up straight again. She glared at her friend. "Did you just say that on purpose to put me off?"

Neal stopped his jog and grinned. "My dear Keladry, I do not need to put you off to beat you. It's what happens when you duel with a superior swordsman such as myself. But anyway I wasn't joking. You're the maid of honour. And the maid of honour has to dance with the best man just after the first dance. Fact. Ask anyone."

Feeling the blood drain from her face, Kel stared at him. "I can't dance with Dom! Not after…what happened…"

"Why not? You're still friends, aren't you? It's only a dance! And it will only be our friends there…well and my family…and some of Yuki's family are coming from the Islands…and the king and queen will be there too…and some of my father's friends…"

Kel was suddenly feeling slightly unwell. She and Dom were supposed to be carrying on like nothing had happened. But the truth of it was, they were avoiding each other like the plague. When they couldn't help but be in the same place, conversation was very strained and false.

And now she had to dance with him!

"But-but-but I can't dance!" she said suddenly, realising another fatal flaw in this scenario.

"You danced with Dom at Raoul and Buri's wedding, this isn't that different."

"That wasn't proper dancing! That was messing around. We were being silly, this…" Kel stared into the distance at the horrible scene playing out in her mind's eye. "This is _proper dancing_. When have you ever seen me dance, properly?"

That made Neal pause and think. "Well…ok, I've never seen it."

"Yes and there's a reason for that!"

"Well," said Neal, reasonably. "You've still got two weeks to practise. Don't worry so much, no one's expecting you to be perfect. Except you. As always."

Scowling, Kel realised that their roles had been reversed once more; she had been demoted to the panicky friend, while Neal was the calm and practical one.

_This is not supposed to be how it goes,_ thought Kel furiously. _It's his stupid wedding, not mine. Why, in the Black God's name, is he not worrying about it yet!_

Gritting her teeth, Kel managed to smooth her features into some semblance of Yamani calm. She hefted her sword once more. "Come on, best out of three, we agreed. This is the deciding one."

She took some glee in the fact that one look at her wiped the smug look off Neal's face. She permitted herself a savage grin.

"Neal…get ready for some pain."


	7. Comfort

7

"What _is_ she doing?" whispered Esmond to Seaver.

The young knights stood at the slightly ajar door watching in astonishment.

"Do you think she's sick?"

"Possessed more like. I've never seen anything like it!"

"Ahem…"

They both jumped and turned to find a tall, richly dressed lady, with long white hair standing behind them.

"Is there a reason, gentlemen, why you are lurking around outside my daughter's door?"

Seaver bowed deeply, recognising Kel's mother, Ilane of Mindelan. Esmond quickly followed suit.

"We were going to ask her to come to lunch with us, My Lady, but it appears she is…busy," said Seaver, lamely.

Ilane's mouth twitched slightly in a small smile. "Well, I wanted to see her now her father and I are back in Corus. I haven't seen her in two years. So if you gentlemen don't mind…"

They bowed and fled.

Ilane pushed open the door to Kel's rooms. She stopped and watched her youngest daughter for a while in puzzlement.

Kel had her eyes closed and appeared to be humming under her breath. She was holding her arms out at a funny angle and moving slowly in circles.

At Ilane's gentle cough, Kel jumped violently and tripped over her own feet. She fell into an ungraceful heap on the floor, looking up at her mother, startled.

"Mama! When…?"

"Yesterday, but we got in too late to come and see you. Papa's here too, but he's had to go to talks with the king – he's part of the new negotiations with Scanra."

Ilane leant down to offer Kel a hand. Pulling her to her feet, she enveloped her daughter in a hug.

"It's so good to see you Kel. I didn't stop to think that when you said you wanted to become a knight it would mean such long times apart."

Kel didn't reply, she just leant her head on her mother's shoulder as Ilane stroked her hair gently.

A while later, they were sitting in private room in an eating house in the city. Kel was busy drawing details from her mother about the rest of her family; one of her nephews was halfway through his page training now and her sisters were all happily married.

There was a pause in the conversation as her mother eyed her carefully.

"You're looking well, Kel. I'm glad…we had a few worrying letters from your friends after that business in Scanra."

Kel blushed. She had never filled her parents in on all the gory details of her kidnap at the hands of Maggur. Unconsciously she pulled at her sleeves, making sure that none of her newer scars were visible.

Shaking her head, Ilane continued. "I was beside myself when we heard the news. I thought, after having sons fighting, having one of my daughters out there wouldn't be any different, but it was…" She grasped Kel's hand over the table and held it tightly.

"I'm safe now, Mama," said Kel softly.

Ilane nodded, wiping at her eyes with the back of her finger. "Of course. And you're an adult and a trained knight. Whatever you do and however old you get, Kel, I will always worry about you. You're my baby after all." Her mother smiled at her. "So, what other news do you have for me? Any love interests?"

Kel's stomach turned over. She shook her head and mumbled, "No. There's no one."

Her mother was not so easily fooled. "What's happened? Is it that Kennan boy? I thought it was so unfair of him to keep your relationship going, when he _knew_ he was already betrothed…"

"No Mama!" As always, at the mention of Cleon, guilt washed through her. "No it's nothing to do with Cleon, it's…" She stopped, biting a suddenly trembling bottom lip.

"Kel?" Ilane's brow creased with worry at seeing her usually composed daughter waver. She moved her chair round the table and put her arm round Kel's shoulder. "Tell me all about it darling."

With a rush and a few tears, Kel told her mother about Dom. Ilane did not say anything, but made soothing noises.

"…and what's made it ten times worse is he's Neal's best man! And I've got to dance with him at the wedding! In a gods-awful dress which makes me look like an oversized cupcake!"

"Well that explains the strange solitary dancing earlier," smiled Ilane. "And Kel, I know it's difficult. You're not the first woman to be turned down by a man and you won't be the last. He obviously doesn't realise what he's missing. You're sisters have all gone through the same thing…as did I when I was a bit younger than you."

"Yes, but I'm not my sisters and I'm not you, Mama. I'm a freak as it is, being a Lady Knight; add to that the fact that I'm about ten times the size of most men I meet…"

"Kel," her mother said firmly. "You are pretty, intelligent, strong and any man will be lucky to have you. You'll find someone in time. Don't be so worried, you're still very young."

"You have to say that, you're my mother," grumbled Kel, but she did feel slightly better.

_Mama's right. I need to stop worrying. Dom doesn't like me, I just have to get over it. I'll probably be on my next new crush in a few weeks. Hopefully, this time, it will be someone more who will like me back._

Still, Kel couldn't shake off the feeling of dread about the upcoming wedding. She couldn't put her finger on it, but she was certain that something was going to go drastically wrong…


	8. Wedding

8

"Are…you…sure…this…_ouch_…is…completely…necessary?"

"It is," replied Lalasa shortly, digging a small foot into Kel's spine and yanking harder on the corset laces.

Finally the blasted thing was tied. Kel realised that breathing was not an option available to her that afternoon.

She stood up, _slowly_, and looked at her former maid, who was holding out the dreaded dress. Kel sighed and allowed Lalasa to drape it around her. She spent some time hooking various bits into place and making adjustments, before stepping back and looking critically at her handiwork.

"Beautiful," Lalasa smiled, clasping her hands over her sizeable baby bump. "You're going to give those Yamanis a run for their money, My Lady."

Kel raised an eyebrow and looked at herself in the mirror, wondering whether pregnancy had robbed Lalasa of her senses. Although the corset had succeeded in boosting her modest curves (as well as cutting off her air supply) the dress was still hideous. Against her will, Kel's eyes travelled up to face height. She grimaced. Her now shoulder length hair – Yuki had forbidden her from cutting it – had been curled, pinned up and ornamented with a pink flower. Lalasa had applied some coloured paint to her face, attempting to cover up some of her freckles and give her a rosier complexion.

_I look,_ though Kel, _like a five-year old. A six-foot, weirdly muscular, five-year old. Even if Dom had found me attractive, one look at me now would be enough to put him off!_

"Oh my goodness!" gasped Lalasa, as a bell tolled somewhere in the Palace and a furious knocking hammered on Kel's door. "I didn't realise that was the time! You must make haste, My Lady! I will see you in the chapel."

The furious knocking turned out to be Lady Haname and Princess Shinkokami, both also bridesmaids. Dressed in exactly the same as Kel, they somehow managed to pull of the look with an air of elegance and grace. Kel's shoulders slumped even more.

"You both look lovely, Your Highness, Lady Haname," Kel muttered, attempting a bow and wincing as the corset threatened to snap one of her ribs.

Shinko smiled at her. "So do you, Keladry. Here, your bouquet. Now we must hurry or we shall be late for the ceremony!"

As it was they arrived at the door to the chapel exactly the same time as Yukimi. Though Kel and the other bridesmaids had started the preparations on her, Yuki's finishing touches had been added by her own mother, over from Yaman, and servants. Now, Neal's wife-to-be looked radiant in a cream coloured Tortallan style dress with a sheer veil covering her face. She was beaming in a most un-Yamani like way.

"Yuki, you look stunning!" said Shinko, as Haname nodded her approval. Kel tried a smile of her own, although inside she was secretly cursing her friend as the corset found new ways to dig into various parts of her anatomy.

Inside the chapel, the music had started. Yuki gave a small gasp and composed her features into stillness. Kel and the ladies arranged themselves at her back, as the doors opened.

Kel felt herself shrivel inside as they walked up the aisle of the chapel. Her sensible inner voice told her that all eyes would be on Yuki and not her, but she still felt ridiculously conspicuous, towering over both bride and bridesmaids. She willed herself to be as stone, keeping her eyes on her bouquet of roses, as they made their slow way to the altar.

Finally they were there. The other two bridesmaids took a seat, but Kel as maid of honour had to remain standing to one side of Yuki, as Dom had to stand with Neal.

Though she had promised herself she wouldn't, Kel snuck a peek at him.

He was standing just behind Neal, who was looking flushed and uncomfortable in a smoky grey silk tunic over a full white shirt and black hose. Dom, on the other hand, was more handsome than ever in similar attire to Neal's.

As the priest started the long and rambling sermon, Kel clenched her jaw and made herself concentrate on the vows being said by bride and groom.

It was going to be a long day.

xxx

Dom took a deep breath as the music started up in the great hall of the Palace. He would never admit it as much to Meathead, but he was rather nervous about dancing in front of so many important people – as a younger son, Dom had always enjoyed a deal of anonymity from the grander people in the realm.

And of course, it meant dancing with Kel as well. Dom didn't know how he felt about that.

The wedding had gone perfectly so far. The bride had looked radiant (Neal had just looked flushed) as the young couple had said their vows to one another. Now it was time for celebrations.

Yuki held Neal's hand as she guided him out to the middle of the floor for their first dance as husband and wife. Dom had to envy his younger cousin's graceful form as he slowly led his bride around the floor in a waltz.

As the music changed subtly, Dom recognised his cue. His eyes roamed the hall for Kel. It took some time, but he finally spotted her hiding behind the hulking form of Raoul. Sighing to himself, he marched purposefully over to them.

"Kel? It's time."

Buri, standing next to her husband, gave an evil grin and grasped the younger woman firmly by the arm, pulling her out from her place of safety and thrusting her towards Dom. He smiled and took her hand, half leading, half dragging her to the middle of the dance floor.

"No, your hands go here…no, one on my shoulder and one in my hand. And then mine goes on your waist."

"Where?" said Kel, looking even more panicky.

"Your waist Kel," replied Dom patiently. "You know…the bit that attaches your legs to the rest of you? I thought Neal said you'd been practising."

"Yeah, well, not with an actual person…" she mumbled, cheeks turning scarlet as she kept her eyes firmly fixed somewhere past his left shoulder.

Dom suppressed a chuckle and started to guide her slowly around the dance floor, wincing every so often as one of his feet got crushed under the weight of the Lady Knight. He took the opportunity to study her as they danced.

They had not spoken properly in weeks. Dom could have kicked himself for the way he'd handled telling her he did not think of her romantically. Despite not feeling that way about Kel, she was a treasured friend and he missed her company drastically. From what Neal had said, she'd been getting herself into a state about her role in the wedding.

Dom needed to make this better. "That's some dress, Kel," he said, smiling at her. "It makes you look really…really…" He struggled to find the right words.

Finally meeting his blue eyes with her own hazel ones, Kel raised her eyebrows. "Stunning? Beautiful? Wildly attractive?" she supplied.

"Actually I was going to say it makes you look like an oversized cupcake, but sure, if you'd rather I went for something like that…"

Dom inwardly held his breath as a range of expressions fought for dominance on Kel's usually passive face. It was with relief then, that he saw a wide grin break out on her face and heard a giggle squeeze past her lips.

"Gods, I was starting to think I was the only one with working eyes," she commented, trying to smooth her features into a more proper expression. "I seriously think weddings send everyone's brains into the realms of madness! I mean, who puts someone who looks like me in this much pink?"

And like that a great deal of the tension dissipated. They managed to get through the rest of the dance with the only minor casualties being dignity and Dom's toes; gracefully leaving the floor as the music changed and other couples started new dances of their own.

"I'm _so_ glad that's over," breathed Kel.

"Me too," said Dom, taking a couple of cups from a passing server with a nod of thanks and handing one to Kel.

She sipped at the grape juice gratefully, cheeks pink in the warm room. She seemed a little anxious again about standing with him, away from the rest of her friends. Dom glanced around the room and saw Sir Merric, with a few of the other younger knights, giving him looks that promised trouble.

"I think maybe I should escort you back to your friends. Some of them look as though they'd gladly castrate me tonight."

Kel's blush deepened. "Neal really can't keep his mouth shut about _anything_. One of these days he's going to come to a sticky end because of it."

"And probably by one of us too," commented Dom, dryly. "Although, by the way Squire Owen is glaring at me, I think I may be coming to a sticky end before our dear Meathead."

"Sir Owen now, don't forget." Kel scrutinised her friends and gave a sigh. "You're probably right, we should – "

"Milady!"

They both turned at the sound of Tobe's voice, as the boy came racing up to them at full speed, nearly taking out several important nobles on his way.

"Tobe? What is it? What's wrong?" Kel asked, concerned at the frantic look on his face.

"Milady!" the lad said, panting. "Milady, you got t'come! It's Lalasa! The baby's comin' early! You, you got to…"

Kel and Dom looked at each other briefly, before leaving the hall at a run.


	9. Birth

**Once more a big thanks to all my lovely reviewers, it's so nice to hear all your comments. Sorry for the delay in uploading chapters, but I hope this one will be worth the wait (btw, I'm not exactly an expert on childbirth, so I'm sorry if this has any glaring inaccuracies!)**

**Enjoy :o)**

9

They followed Tobe at a sprint all the way back to Kel's rooms. Kel held her skirts above her knees as she ran, struggling for breath as the corset seemed to crush the air from her lungs.

Tumbling through the door, they were greeted by the sight of a very pale Lalasa clutching on to a shelf for dear life. A great puddle of liquid pooled around her feet and her dress was soaked.

Terrified dark eyes found Kel's face. "Lady…the baby…it's too early…" She stopped and winced suddenly, stifling a cry.

That shocked Kel out of her frozen state. She turned to the man and boy standing dumbstruck at her back. "Tobe," she said shortly. "Go and find Gethin. Quickly!" If Lalasa were truly having the baby, here, now, in Kel's rooms, then her husband should be here. The boy nodded and hared off.

"Dom? Dom!" Kel snapped, shaking him by the shoulder. He looked as pale as Lalasa did and seemed terrified by the whole situation. "Find a healer. And be fast, I don't think we have long." He nodded as well, taking one last fearful look at the distressed woman before him, before leaving the room at a run.

Mentally gathering herself, Kel turned back to Lalasa. "Take my arm," she said gently. "And let's get you sat down on the bed at least."

"I'll ruin the covers…look what a mess I've made of your floor…" Lalasa's voice was barely a whisper.

Kel smiled. Trust Lalasa to worry about such things at a time like this. "It doesn't matter. You're more important. How come's you're back here anyway? You should be at the wedding."

"I had pains," Lalasa said, wincing as Kel lowered her onto the bed. "I thought it was something I'd eaten, because I felt sick as well. So I thought I would come here and sit down for a while. Tobe came with me. Then, almost as soon as we walked through the door…oh! Oh!" She stopped, gritting her teeth as another contraction rolled through her. Kel rubbed her back until it had passed and the older woman could continue talking. "It's too early, My Lady. I'm not due for another month. What will happen?"

"It will be fine," Kel could not bear to see the fear in her ex-maid's eyes. "One of my nieces was born a month early and she was perfectly okay. Don't worry."

Kel was glad to hear her voice sounded calm and in control. Inside she was a boiling mess of panic. What if there was something wrong with the baby? What if Lalasa started to give birth before a healer came? She knew nothing about childbirth!

Another contraction came over Lalasa just as the door burst open. Kel looked up with relief, which quickly turned to disbelief as she saw the lanky form of Neal enter, Dom trailing him.

"Neal! What…" Kel shook her head. "Dom, I said find a healer!"

"I did! Neal _is_ a healer!" He still looked petrified.

"I know but…" Kel was amazed at the stupidity of men at times. "It's his _wedding_ day. There are plenty of other healers in the Palace!"

"I don't know! I panicked!"

"Ssh, you two!" said Neal, who had swiftly moved to Lalasa's side and had placed a glowing green hand on her belly. He frowned slightly. "No time to get someone else now, this baby's not about to hang around for anyone." He put gentle hands on Lalasa's shoulders and got her to lie back on the bed. "I know it's not how you were expecting Lalasa, but you've got a bit of hard work to do in a moment."

The woman's eyes filled with terror. "But…but…I can't…not…not you…" Frantically, her hands grasped at her skirt, holding it down firmly.

Neal frowned again. "I know you're scared, but – "

"Neal," Kel cut him off, motioning with her head. "A word."

She drew him to one side, whispering. "Remember I told you once how Lalasa had been hurt in the past? She doesn't trust men…_any _men, apart from her husband Gethin. She needs a female healer."

Lalasa gave a cry behind them, louder than any before. Neal scowled and then shook his head. "We don't have time for that. The baby's in distress. It needs to be born _now_." He paused. "All right. I'll direct you."

Kel could have sworn she'd misheard. "I…what? But…"

Another cry. "We don't have _time_ Mindelan! Get down there, get her stockings off and tell me how dilated she is."

And before she knew what she was doing, Kel was gently tugging off Lalasa's stockings and underclothes. Remembering, she looked around for Dom, but he seemed to have made a swift getaway.

_Sensible_, Kel thought, swallowing nausea as she looked between Lalasa's legs. "What's dilated mean anyway?"

Neal was sitting on the bed at Lalasa's head, one shimmering hand being clutched tightly as he directed the dressmaker to breathe. "How large is the opening?"

"Er…" Kel held up her thumb and forefinger. "About that much."

"All right. On the next contraction Lalasa, you need to push as hard as you can."

The woman nodded and a few breaths later started to strain.

"Anything?" asked Neal, when Lalasa had fallen back panting.

"No," Kel's heart was beating at a frantic pace. "Nothing."

And nothing happened for the next few pushes until suddenly. "Oh! I can see something! The head! I think it's the top of the head!"

"Right, you need to support it when it's out. Next one then Lalasa, this is the hard part."

Screaming now, Lalasa gave another great push and Kel watched with open-mouthed amazement as a small, gooey, wrinkled face came into view. She hurriedly put her hand under the tiny damp head.

But something was wrong. "Neal…there's something around its neck…"

"The cord," Neal reached for his boot and drew out a small knife. "That would be why the baby was in distress. You need to cut it away."

With a shaking hand, Kel took the knife. _Oh gods, what if I cut the baby?_ She drew a deep breath and stilled herself, before tentatively reaching out and sawing through the pulsing blue cord. The nausea came rushing back once more.

"Done," she hissed, out of breath.

Lalasa was sobbing. "I can't…I can't push any more…I'm too tired…"

"I know," said Neal, placing his free hand on her forehead. "But just one more big push to get the shoulders out and you're done. Squeeze my hand again for this next one."

He must have regretted saying that afterwards, Kel decided, watching her friend's face crease with pain as Lalasa turned red, straining for one last time.

With a big rush of blood and other fluids, the small body came slithering out into Kel's hands. She lifted the tiny creature and, at Neal's direction, grabbed a towel from the sideboard, gently cleaning the baby.

But it was too quiet.

"Pass it over," said Neal. He took the baby and cleared out its airways with a deft finger. He listened to its chest, turned it upside down and gave it a sharp smack on the backside.

And like that a piercing wailing filled the room. It was the best sound Kel had ever heard.

Wrapping the baby in the towel, Neal turned and handed it to a weeping Lalasa. "Congratulations," he smiled. "You have a perfectly healthy little boy."

Neal surveyed mother and baby, grinning, before turning to Kel.

"No matter how many babies I deliver…and the really do tend to pick their times, don't they…I never get fed up of this moment."

Kel could do nothing but nod and grin back inanely. Tears were running down her cheeks. She didn't care.

Once more the door burst open.

"Milady! I got Gethin! And Sergeant Domitan's found a midwife, we…" Tobe stopped, as his eyes alit on the baby in Lalasa's arms and the mess made during the birth.

The midwife shoved past everyone, bustling over to take care of mother and new-born. The small, hesitant man with sandy brown hair and worried grey eyes peering into the room had to be Gethin.

"Congratulations, sir," smiled Neal. "You have a small, but healthy son."

Gethin burst into tears, also running in to be with his wife and new child.

The two knights, Tobe and Dom stood at the door, watching the scene.

"Well…this is certainly something we'll all remember, I should think!" breathed Dom.

Neal nodded, but his eyes were on Kel. "Mindelan…you've gone very pale. Are you okay?"

She couldn't wipe the huge grin off her face, even though Neal's voice sounded oddly far away. "Lasala…she had a baby!" Kel said, before everything went dark.

She didn't even remember hitting the floor.


	10. A Warning

**Oh no she didn't...oh yes she _did_ just add another chapter. And I think, if some of you were a little disappointed by the birth scene from earlier, you will be a little more intrigued by this one. Or confused. Either one works for me.**

***cackles maniaclly***

10

Voice floated around her.

"Just keep fanning, for gods' sake man!"

"Look, Meathead, you might be Mister Calm when it comes to women giving birth on you, but not all of us are blessed with such gifts, all right?"

A cool breeze blew on her face. Her head ached. She seemed to be lying on a hard surface.

Kel opened her eyes to find Dom looming over her, fanning her with a stack of parchment. She was stretched out on the floor of the corridor outside her rooms, her feet propped up on Neal's lap to keep them higher than her head.

"Please don't tell me I fainted."

"Okay, we won't," smirked Neal. "Just keep still for a bit, while we let some blood get back into your brain. Mithros knows, it needs all it can get."

"I really hate you sometimes, Neal."

Kel stared at the ceiling for a while, until she felt steady enough to attempt sitting up. As she did so, she had to clutch at the front of her dress to stop it from falling off.

"What the…" Kel glared at the two men. "Who on earth undid my dress?"

"I did," said Neal, cutting across Dom's embarrassed splutterings. "That damned corset you're wearing was restricting your breathing. That's probably a large contributing factor to why you passed out. I had to cut the strings." He inspected the large bruise on his hand that Lalasa had given him and touched a casual green tipped finger to it. The bruise vanished.

They helped Kel to her feet, as she tried to retain some semblance of dignity. It wasn't really working. She glanced down at her hands, which, like the front of her dress, were covered in drying blood. She was a mess.

"Go to mine and Yuki's rooms. I'll send someone to get some hot water and bring you some clothes. Once you're sorted come back to the great hall. There's still my wedding going on you know." Neal pressed a key into her hand. "My dear cousin will help you down the hall if you're feeling giddy still. See you in a while." And with that he loped off.

Kel scowled at his retreating back, before shaking her head and sighing. She gave the now closed door to her room a cautious glance. Tobe was leaning on it, grinning at her.

"Wipe that smile off your face, Tobeis Boon, and fetch me some clean clothes. And if either of you even _think_ about telling anyone about this…" she waved a menacing finger at them, before being forced to grasp her dress once more.

"I wouldn't worry about us, Milady," chuckled Tobe. "T'is Sir Nealan I'd be worried about, if I was you. A gob like his, likely the whole realm'll know within a week."

"Rats," muttered Kel. He was right. She frowned suddenly. "What about Lalasa and the baby, shouldn't we…?"

"Best leave them to it," commented Dom, not meeting her eyes. "The midwife's in there now and Gethin. They probably don't want us intruding."

"I suppose," murmured Kel. She started to walk down the corridor to Neal's chambers. Dom caught up with her as she went.

"Sorry I was a bit useless," he said, as they reached the door. "I've never had to deal with that before."

"Me neither," Kel said. "Give me a battlefield any day." She paused, turning the key in the lock. "Dom…thanks."

"For what?"

"For being there," Kel shrugged, with a shy smile. Impulsively, she bobbed up on her tiptoes and planted a kiss on his cheek. Before he could react, she was in Neal's room, leaning on the shut door and breathing deeply.

xxx

A few hours later, Neal and Yuki found Kel hiding in a corner with a group of people that included her former knight master.

"Sorry, we got caught up with their majesties. The Queen wanted to know how Lalasa was," said Neal.

Kel smiled. She had always liked Queen Thayet and her down-to-earth manner. There were not many queens who would inquire after the health of a mere dressmaker.

"Neal tells me I am not to scold you for stealing him away from our big day," Yuki's eyes were crinkled in a smile. "I am glad Lalasa is well. I look forward to meeting the newest addition to her family."

"You look better anyway, Kel. You're not quite so pale…or so cupcake like. Though I think getting someone to give birth on you was a little bit too far to go, just so you could change out of that dress," Neal added with a wicked grin.

If she were not in company, Kel would have treated her best friend to the beating of a lifetime. As it was, she had to make do with glaring at him. She had washed and changed, gratefully, into shirt, hose and her best tunic in Mindelan colours. The flower in her hair had been removed and she had smoothed it down into a much more low-key style, full of a new reserve to get it cut as soon as she could.

Raoul looked confused. "What was wrong with you, Kel?"

"Nothing," she said, through clenched teeth, giving Neal a warning look. "Just a bit of shock. It's not everyday someone gives birth in my room. I'll have to find somewhere else to sleep tonight."

"Your old room in the Own's quarters is still empty," commented Buri. "Why don't you stay there?"

It was a little bit too near to Dom for her liking, but the other choice was a trek out to her parent's town house, which she did not relish at this hour. Kel nodded reluctantly.

The wedding party went on into the small hours. Kel wished she could make an excuse to leave early, but felt she had to stay. She was the maid of honour, after all, and had missed a significant chunk of it earlier.

Finally, with Raoul and Buri in tow, Kel made her way to her old room with the Own. She hadn't seen Dom all evening after the incident with Lalasa. She didn't know if he had been purposely avoiding her.

_Why did I do that?_ she thought to herself, crossly. _After all we've said to each other…now he'll probably think I'm some sort of lovesick girl who can't get over him._ Which made her even more angry, as there was a smattering of truth in that.

Digging her hands into her pockets, Kel followed a laughing Raoul and Buri across the torch lit courtyard to their quarters. She fell further behind, lost in her own thoughts.

She wasn't paying attention then, when something hurtled out of the darkness to smash into her back.

With a yell, Kel fell forward, managing to free her hands from her pockets just in time to prevent her face from smacking into the flagstones. She rolled as she hit the floor, feeling something heavy strike the stones just inches from her face.

She lunged to her feet, squinting in the dim light at her attacker.

A shapeless shadow hovered before her. Kel felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end.

"What…what _are_ you?" she asked, her voice trembling.

The shadow pulsed. With incredible speed, it flew at her. Kel dove to the side, feeling it clip her shoulder as it barrelled past. It was solid, that was for certain, as she felt the beginnings of a bruise.

Whirling, she faced it once more. "What do you want? Why are you attacking me?" She had no weapons on her apart from her belt knife. Besides…she didn't know _what_ she would use to fight this…_thing_.

It pulsed again and Kel set her body for the attack. But instead a soft, hissing voice came from somewhere within the shadow. "_Protector…Protector of the Small…_"

Goosebumps rippled down her arms. Where were Raoul and Buri? "What do you want from me?"

"_Protector…_" the voice seemed to be all around her. "_You have brought forth new life today…and yet death walks with you…_"

Kel's knees felt watery, but her hands balled into fists. She didn't know what this creature was, but she would show it she wasn't easily frightened. "I hate being spoken to in riddles. Ask the Chamber of the Ordeal. Speak plainly!"

"_Death stalks you…you have been aware of it since you were a child…death will find you, Protector…you must be ready for it…you must _stop_ it…or death will take the realm and all you hold dear…including the child you helped bring into this world…death is coming for you…_"

And suddenly, the shadow came at her once more and Kel was too slow to avoid it. But, instead of hitting her with force like it did before, the shadow seemed to envelope her in a cloud of stinging darkness.

Then, it was gone.

Kel blinked, aware that she was icy cold. Her breath formed clouds in front of her, though the night had been warm enough before.

"Kel?" Raoul's voice seemed obscenely loud after the hissing whisper of the shadow before. She jumped nervously.

"Kel, what are you doing? Are you coming back with us or what?" Buri stood with her husband, hands on hips.

She shivered, rubbing her arms to try and warm herself. "Yes…I'm coming."


	11. Jump

**Don't worry, I wasn't going to leave you in suspense forever! I had a bad case of writer's block...a seriously bad case! Hopefully it's all gone now and we can continue on with Kel's exploits as our tale gets even stranger...**

**As ever I own nothing you recognise from the books - I wish I did. And thanks to everyone who has reviewed so far! :o) **

11

It took Kel a moment to work out where she was. Blinking round at the bare room as the early morning sun sparkled on the wall opposite, Kel pulled the blanket up round her shoulders.

Hearing men's voices from the corridor outside, Kel remembered she was in her old room at the Own's barracks. She could not hear any sounds coming from the room adjoining hers – Raoul and Buri were either still asleep or already up and out.

She had slept past her usual waking up time – sleep that had been filled with odd dreams that she couldn't quite remember, but left her feeling unsettled. Gradually the events of the night before came back to her, but they seemed surreal. In the sunny morning, Kel had to wonder if she had imagined the black shadow and the strange warning it had given.

Stifling a groan, Kel eased her way out of bed. She felt about ninety years old – every muscle in her body was stiff and a headache pounded steadily away behind her eyes. On top of all of it she felt strangely cold, even though the day seemed warm enough.

_Oh great,_ she thought crossly, picking up last night's tunic from the back of the chair and giving it a shake. _I'm getting sick. I'll have to go and find a healer at some point today, to nip whatever this is in the bud._

And a barber, she remembered, pushing her hair out of her eyes. In fact, she might do that first – there was one on the way back to her usual rooms.

The thought made her wince, remembering the mess that her rooms had been in as a result of Lalasa giving birth all over her bed. Another thing she would have to sort out. And here she had been hoping for a rare day of rest. Nobody else would be doing anything, they would all be too tired or hungover.

_I might as well have had a drink myself, the way I feel this morning_, Kel considered, trying some stretches to make her feel less stiff. She bent to touch her toes, only to find her head swam as she straightened up. Shaking it to clear it, she did a few arm strengthening exercises against the wall, frowning as her left shoulder hurt. Pulling her shirt to one side, she saw a large bruise spreading over her skin.

It made her pause. Maybe the shadow wasn't her imagination after all. Maybe she should take it a bit more seriously than she was planning to.

_One thing at a time, Kel. Get yourself sorted and then find someone who might know more about things like this. Master Numair might be a good place to start. But first things first…haircut!_

xxx

A couple of hours later found Kel feeling somewhat more like her usual self. She had visited the barber and had her hair chopped back to its customary earlobe length; her fringe trimmed so she could actually see properly once more. Then she had gone to her rooms, gritting her teeth as she opened the door to find…that everything was completely clean. The servants had obviously been informed and it looked like nothing had taken place there at all. It was her first nice surprise in ages. The sparrows were out in the courtyard, enjoying the sunshine. Kel left them to it, not wanting to disturb their fun. She would buy them a treat later, perhaps.

She had washed, changed into fresh clothes and then thought about what she should do next. The healers could wait, Kel decided – she was feeling a little more human again.

_It was probably a combination of a stressful evening and a bad night's sleep. If I don't feel completely better tomorrow, I'll go then,_ she reasoned with herself.

Numair and Daine's rooms then. She should really talk to someone who knew more about strange omens and magical creatures than she did and, besides, Jump was back with Daine having had more healings for his arthritis. She hadn't seen nearly enough of her dog in the last few months. It was time they had a much needed catch up. After that, she would see if Lalasa was ready for anyone to visit. Kel would like to see the new baby without the stress of birth and blood added into the mix.

Smiling at the thought, Kel left her rooms whistling.

Several people passed her on the way, most of them looking a little worse for wear after the wedding celebrations, and she got barely more than nods and a muttered "Good morning" from most of them. Finally reaching her destination, Kel found the door slightly ajar.

"Hello?" Kel knocked gently and poked her head round into the room. "Daine? Master Numair?"

The room appeared to be empty, except for a small white form curled up in front of the fireplace. Kel grinned and tiptoed over to her dog.

Jump was sound asleep looking, Kel realised with a pang, more his age than ever. Smiling sadly, she crouched down and gently rubbed his lone ear to wake him.

He startled awake, nose snuffling the air. "Hello old boy," said Kel. "I've missed you lately. I'm beginning to think you've left me for Daine."

Jump stared at her as she continued to stroke him and then, with no warning, he bit her.

Kel gave a shocked cry and tried to pull her hand away, pain soaring up her arm. Jump held on for a moment, before releasing her. Holding her bleeding left hand to her chest, Kel leapt to her feet and backed up slowly as Jump advanced on her, hackles raised and teeth bared.

This was awful. Kel couldn't believe it. "Jump…it's me! It's Kel! Stop it!" Did he not recognise her? But he'd only seen her two days before. Had something happened to him?

Suddenly her back met with something solid – the wall. Kel realised she had backed herself into a corner – the door was to her right. She glanced at it, before returning her gaze to the furious dog who was slowly advancing on her, hate filling his small black eyes. A snarl tore itself from his throat.

Kel tensed herself. She didn't want to hurt Jump – the very thought of it made her feel ill – but she wasn't going to stand there and let him attack her. She would wait until he sprung and then she could dodge for the door.

As it turned out she didn't need to. A female voice rang from the open doorway. "Jump! Don't! Stand back!"

Kel had never been so glad to hear Daine's voice. As Jump edged his way backwards, his eyes still fixed on her, Kel turned to thank the Wildmage and ask what on earth was wrong with her dog.

She found herself looking down the sight of a crossbow. Eyes widening, Kel's gaze left the point of the arrow centred directly at her heart, to the face of the young, slim woman holding it. Blue-grey eyes blazed with anger. A shrill shriek sounded from just behind her – Kitten the dragon looked just as mad as her mistress.

"Daine…what…" Kel could barely get the words out from past her numb lips.

"Don't make any sudden movements, unless you're hoping to be pinned to that wall behind you." The Wildmage's voice was fierce. "Now, you're going to tell me, nice and calmly, who in the Black God's name you are and what you've done with Lady Knight Keladry of Mindelan."


	12. More Magic

12

The world had gone mad. Or she had.

That was the only explanation Kel could think of. She once more had her back pressed to a wall.

"Daine, please listen to me. I don't understand what you're talking about!"

The Wildmage's pretty features twisted into a sneer. "Don't play coy. You might have everyone else fooled, but the People aren't so easy to hoodwink. Jump knew straight away. He was the one who called me. Even if Jump hadn't told me, I can see it plain as the nose on my face. _You are not Keladry of Mindelan_." Keeping her eyes on Kel, Daine addressed the young dragon behind her. "Kit, go fetch Numair."

Kel's mouth was hanging open. If it wasn't for the fact her bitten hand was throbbing steadily, she might have thought she was dreaming.

There was a looking glass to her side. Kel could just about see her reflection in it, without turning too much to give Daine an excuse to shoot her – she knew the Wildmage was an excellent shot with a bow and did not want to experience her skill first hand.

She looked the same as she always did. There was the mouse brown hair. The broad shoulders. The small nose. The hazel eyes. _She didn't look any different. She wasn't different. What was going on?_

Hurried footsteps outside and an extremely tall man with a mane of black hair stepped through the door.

"Daine, what…" he froze, his dark eyes widening at the scene in front of him. "What in the Hag's name is going on here?"

"It's not Keladry," replied Daine, not taking her eyes from Kel's face. "Don't ask me how to explain it, but it's _not her_. I can sense it. And so can the People."

Numair moved around so he could get a better look at Kel. "From outward physical appearance, the likeness is uncanny. You can sense the difference with your Wild Magic?"

"I can sense something is not right. Not…_human_. What do you think it is?"

"I can't be sure without conducting some tests with my own Gift. Really we should inform Jon – if there are shapeshifters or simulacra walking about the palace disguised as his knights, he really ought to be aware – "

"Hey!" Kel was starting to get cross now, that this conversation was being played out like she wasn't in the room. "Excuse me, but I'm not a shapeshifter. I'm _me_. I'm Keladry of Mindelan! I don't know what's going on!"

There was a brief silence as both Numair and Daine stared at her.

"Please!" continued Kel, feeling quite desperate now. "You have to believe me. Look, something strange happened to me last night on the way back from the wedding, it's why I came here in the first place. I was walking back to the Own's barracks and…"

"Why would you be walking back to the Own?" demanded Daine. "Keladry hasn't been Raoul's squire for years."

"My own room was a mess – my friend Lalasa went into labour and gave birth in…anyway that's beside the point. The point is I was attacked by a…well, a sort of shadow."

"A shadow?" Numair tugged his long nose. "How interesting. Was it amorphous or distinct?"

"Erm…what…?"

Daine rolled her eyes. "In normal speak please, Numair."

"Oh, sorry. Did it have a definite shape to it at all?"

"No…no, it was sort of a…blob," Kel could feel her cheeks burning. She was all too aware of how ridiculous this sounded. "It seemed solid at first. It knocked me over. And then it spoke. It gave me a sort of warning…"

"Warning?"

"Something about death. It warned me death was stalking me and the whole realm would be in trouble if I didn't do something about it. And then it sort of…covered me…"

"How so?"

"I don't know," Kel was struggling to express what happened. "It seemed like it was solid at first, but then it came at me again and…surrounded me. I felt all cold and tingly and then…it was just gone. To be honest, I didn't know what to think. I thought, maybe I imagined it, but then I woke up with a bruise on my shoulder from when the shadow hit me and I felt weird and then Jump _bit_ me and then Daine wanted to shoot me and _I don't understand what's going on!_"

She stopped then, breathing heavily, feeling close to tears with frustration and confusion.

Numair laid a hand on Daine's shoulder. "Lower your bow, sweetling." As Daine did so, reluctantly, Numair reached out to Kel with a hand that sparkled with black fire.

Seeing Kel flinch, he smiled at her. "Don't worry, Lady Knight. I just need to see what's going on inside your mind. Maybe we can get some more answers for you."

He put a gentle hand on her forehead. "Close your eyes and let me guide you." Numair murmured.

Kel did so, seeing twinkling lights on the back of her eyelids.

"_Inside,_" Numair's voice did not sound in her ears, but her head.

She felt as though she was falling through blackness…and then suddenly Kel was standing on a neat, grassy plain at the edge of a calm lake. The sky overhead was as blue as forget-me-nots. It was warm with no breeze to speak of. She had never been anywhere like this before, but everything was strangely familiar.

"I'm very impressed." Kel jumped at the voice and turned to see Numair standing beside her. "This has to be one of the tidiest minds I've ever seen."

"What…where…where are we?"

Numair grinned at her. "You tell me. This is your mind, Lady Kel."

Wide eyed, Kel looked around her. _Of course,_ she thought suddenly, _how many times have I pictured myself to be a calm lake? It makes sense my mind is like this._

"It makes perfect sense," Numair nodded. He smiled sheepishly at her. "Sorry, the you that's here is the same you that is outside your mind. I will try to block out as many of your private thoughts as I can but a few might break through."

The first bit made no sense to Kel, but she understood the second bit clearly. She would have to be very careful about what she thought.

"As careful as you can," nodded Numair. "This is certainly the neatest mind I've seen for a long time but you're still human, Keladry. We need to walk around a bit to see if we can't find what this shadow did to you. I doubt very much all of your mind is like this. It couldn't be."

"Right," said Kel squaring her shoulders…at least the shoulders in her mind…how could she be standing here if this was _inside_ her head…?

A rumble of thunder boomed in the far off distance and a few clouds suddenly appeared on the horizon.

"I wouldn't think about that too much if you can help it," mentioned Numair as they started walking. "I think you're giving yourself a headache."

Kel concentrated on calm lakes as they strolled along. "Fine. So where should we look?"

"Again, you tell me."

She nodded and continued to walk in the direction they were. It just felt _right_.

As they walked the neat grass started to give way to stones and rocks, making walking a bit more difficult. The lake had turned into a small stream, which was widening as they walked beside it, becoming more and more tumultuous. The flat landscape was turning mountainous.

"Hmm, this is more like it," pondered Numair. "If I were a strange, ominous shadow, I would probably hide in the less organised part of your mind as well."

Kel nodded, but she did not speak. She did not have to. Surely Numair could feel the fear seeping out from every pore. This was not a corner of her mind she wanted to visit, let alone wanted anyone else to visit.

And yet her feet propelled her forward.

"Kel," Numair's hand was suddenly on her arm. "What's that ahead of us?"

Kel had been staring at the ground beneath her feet, trying desperately to keep her fear at bay. It was getting harder and harder as they walked.

Knowing what she was about to see, Kel raised her head.


	13. Confrontation

13

"Hullo Daine have you seen…" Neal stopped and stared at the scene before him. Kel was standing gazing blankly before her. Numair was in a similar position, his hand on her forehead, sparkling with the light of his Gift.

The Wildmage stood there, crossbow half raised, dog and dragon on either side of her keeping a steady watch on the immobile humans before them.

"Daine…what in Mithros' name is Numair doing to Kel?" spluttered Neal.

"The thing is…we're not sure it even _is_ Kel," replied Daine, her blue-grey eyes worried.

Neal blinked. "Of course that's…how can you say that? Who else could it be?"

"Or _what_ else, you mean," said Daine grimly. "That's what Numair is trying to find out…"

xxx

"Keladry," murmured Numair. "Who is that?"

The person standing in front of her was someone Kel thought she would never have to see again, apart from sometimes in her nightmares.

The fear was so great now it felt like it was crushing her chest.

"Kel?" Numair repeated. "Who is it?"

"Why don't you tell him, Lady Knight?" said the tall man, his blonde dreadlocks swinging about his shoulders.

"Kerlan…" she whispered. "His name is Kerlan. He was one of the men…"

"Who kidnapped you in Scanra," finished Numair. Clearly he could still hear her thoughts.

"Well," said the Scanran, fixing a grin on his face. "It's nice to see you again, since we parted on _such_ bad terms." He gestured to his torso, which was a mass of blood and entrails.

Kel felt her stomach roll and realised the air around them was growing darker. A gust of wind blew around them suddenly and in the distance, thunder.

"Kel," said Numair softly. "You need to be careful. I don't know what sort of creature this is, but clearly it is drawing on the things that you fear the most. We are in your mind, but it could trick you into some sort of trap."

"He's a clever one, this," said Kerlan, nodding towards Numair. "This may be your mind, _Lady Knight_, but I think you'll find I have some tricks up my sleeve. Like before…remember what fun we had, back in Scanra?"

"Don't let him get to you, Kel," hissed Numair. "Your fear is the biggest weapon he has in here and one that could prove dangerous if you let it."

Kel tried to nod to show she understood, but the fear was so great she could barely move. _Like I could barely move that time…in that hut…in Scanra…after Maggur…_

"Oh, his majesty…" Kerlan smiled. "He'd probably like to see you too!"

And the outline of the man in front of them blurred and shifted, becoming shorter. Suddenly, the dead Scanran king stood before them.

Kel's eyes widened. Maggur smiled his humourless smile at her. She had seen that smile so many times when he had been inflicting pain on her.

"I remember those times so fondly, what fun we had. Should we have some more fun?"

"No! Please!" Kel dropped to her knees. She felt sick and weak at the mere thought of what the Scanran king had done to her, at what he had been planning on doing to her before she had been rescued. If Neal and the others hadn't turned up when they had…

"Kel!" shouted Numair, over the rising wind. Lightning ripped the air above them. "Kel, don't let it get to you! You have to fight it!"

But it was so hard. A part of her was confused; she had been scared before, terrified even, but normally she could cope with it, normally she used the iron force of her will to beat back the fear, but here, in this place…

"Kel! It's all in your mind! That thing is affecting your emotions! You have to beat it, or we're both lost! Kel!"

A new tone in Numair's voice made her tear her gaze away from the form of Maggur and look at the mage. _Things_ were coming out of the ground around him; they looked like tendrils of plants or something, and they were winding their way around Numair, binding him fast.

"Kel!" he wheezed, as one tendril wound its way around his throat.

"Stop it, stop it!" she cried, looking back at Maggur. But it was no longer Maggur. It was Joren, her old enemy from her years as a page, the boy who had died in the Chamber of the Ordeal.

He smiled, his beautiful blue eyes looking straight into her own weeping ones. "How many times did I have to tell you, _wench_, that women were never supposed to be knights? Look, you're killing yet another innocent person, because you can't control yourself."

"No…I never…I'm not…it's you…_stop it_!"

Joren became Blayce, a red gash running around his neck, where she had chopped his head off. "You failed to stop me when you had the chance, knight. How many children's souls were enslaved by me, because _you failed to stop me sooner?"_

Numair gave a choked gasp from her side. Kel looked down at her hands, resting on the ground and gasped as she saw more tendrils weaving their way around her own wrists. Thick ropes of the things were already around her knees.

"No," she sobbed. She had to stop this. But how could she?

Raising her head once more she saw the creature in front of her blur suddenly, flickering between many images, all of the people from Haven she had lost when the camp had been taken.

Kel shut her eyes, grit her teeth and clenched her fists, pulling with all her might against the creeping vines that anchored her to the ground. They held fast, winding their way further up her arms. _This was all in her head, how could it feel so real if it was all in her head, she couldn't die in her own head could she? Numair couldn't die, not in here, could he?_

She heard the mage slump to the ground beside her.

"No!" she shouted. She opened her eyes to find Dom, crouching down in front of her.

"How could you think I would ever want _you_? I have my pick of the women, what makes you think I would ever want a _Lump_ like you?"

It was the creature's first mistake. It had been drawing on everything she feared, everything that she had hidden away in this dark corner of her mind. But the creature was not her. It could only use what it saw in her head. And it wasn't getting everything right.

"Joren called me Lump. Him and his friends. Dom's never heard that word in relation to me," sniffed Kel, raising her head a little higher and pulling once more at the vines. They seemed to give.

The Dom-creature frowned and shifted. It became Wyldon. "Women are not supposed to be knights – they are too weak in their arms, too emotional."

Kel yanked and managed to pull her arms free. "Now you're clutching at straws," she said, wiping her face on her sleeve. "Lord Wyldon respects me as much as any other knight. His opinion changed."

She stood up, tendrils falling away from her legs as she did so. The terrible wind that had been blowing around them was dying down. Kel brushed her clothes down and then straightened, coming face to face with herself.

"No one will ever love you," hissed the Kel-creature. "No one will ever want you. You're not a woman. You're not a man. You're nothing, just some pathetic creature who hides behind a shield and armour. You don't know who you are, deep down."

"That might be true," replied Kel, softly. "That might be truer than even I know. But I know what _you_ are, now."

The Kel-creature laughed. "I am everything bad you've ever dreamed. I am everything you've ever feared. Look around you _Lady Knight_. You can't even protect your own mind. How can you protect the people you pretend to care about."

Kel glanced around her. Somehow they were standing together on the top of a pillar of stone. They were so high, Kel could see clouds below them. Numair was nowhere to be seen.

"I got over my fear of heights years ago," she said coolly. She felt oddly calm now. "Once on Balor's Needle and once in the Chamber."

When she looked back at the Kel-creature, she saw herself scarred beyond all recognition. "And this is what might happen if you continue on the course you are. No one will want you then," it hissed at her.

"Maybe," Kel shrugged. "It's something I've come to accept. I've been scarred already. And I might be again. It's something I have to deal with doing the job I do. Now are you going to get out of my head, or am I going to have to drag you out?"

And the Kel-creature, scarred face twisted into a terrible expression, hazel eyes filled with hatred, dove at her, fingers outstretched like claws.

Kel caught its arms before it could drive its nails into her eyes. But the force of it drove them both back and Kel felt the ground crumble beneath her foot. Seconds later, they were both falling.

A black mist, sparkling with small points of light engulfed them both, slowing them in their descent. Kel could see the face that was so like hers and yet not, twist in sudden fear and rage before dissolving into the shadow she had seen the night before. Kel closed her eyes.

There was a sudden pressure, in which her ears popped and a _shriek_ sounded in her ears.

And like that, the pressure was gone. She was no longer falling.

Kel opened her eyes.


	14. The Shadow Flees

**A bit of a short chapter this one...I do like to tease! :oP**

14

Neal wasn't sure what had happened. First Numair and Kel had been standing there, frozen in place almost. Daine had been babbling something about Kel not being Kel, which didn't make _any_ sense and then…

And then he wasn't quite sure what he had seen. The air in the room had _twisted_ – if that were even possible – and _something_ had flown from where Kel had been standing; barrelling past him and the Wildmage and out the door.

It looked like some sort of shadow.

Neal rubbed his arm from where whatever it was had struck him on the way past. He glanced at Daine, who was staring at the open door with wide eyes.

"Did…did you just see…?"

Neal nodded, but was interrupted from replying by two thuds from behind them.

They turned to find Numair and Kel both collapsed on the floor.

The tall mage was coughing violently, rubbing his throat. Daine rushed to his side, supporting him into a sitting position.

Neal, in turn, ran and crouched beside Kel, who was slumped against the wall.

"Kel!" he shook her arm.

She opened her eyes, which looked bloodshot and puffy as if she had been weeping. They swivelled, momentarily panic stricken, before alighting on Numair, Daine and then, finally, Neal.

Kel closed her eyes again and gave a huge sigh. "Oh thank Mithros…"

"Could someone _please_ explain to me what is going on?" said Neal, starting to feel a bit cross.

Numair pushed aside a fussing Daine and reached over to Kel, taking her hand in one of his. It glowed momentarily with his Gift. "It's gone."

Kel nodded, her eyes still shut.

"You mean that shadow thing?" said Neal.

Kel's eyes shot open. "You _saw_ it?"

"We both did," replied Daine. She was looking very worried. "Kel…it _is_ you. Whatever it was…it made you seem…different, before…I'm…I'm so sorry…"

"It's ok," said Kel firmly. "You were only doing what you thought was best. Don't worry about it."

Jump came up to her, his tail tucked between his legs and his lone ear flat. He pawed at her knee and whimpered.

Kel smiled at him, "Come here, you." Jump leapt into her lap and started licking her face, tail wagging furiously. "It's all right."

"Right. Explanation. Now!" demanded Neal. "I'm too hungover for all of this! And I'm supposed to be going on my honeymoon in a few hours. I only came to say goodbye."

"I'm still not a hundred per cent sure what it was," said Numair. His voice was hoarse, as if he'd been strangled. "But it was certainly dangerous. It seemed to be some sort of creature that feeds on people's deepest fears."

Neal's eyes widened as he looked at Kel. She had turned quite pale.

Numair saw her expression and smiled reassuringly at her. "Luckily, our Lady Knight has a stronger mind than most. Instead of letting it take a hold over her, she managed to hold it off long enough for me to work out how to get rid of it."

"So that was you?" said Kel, quietly. "The black mist that stopped…that stopped it?"

The tall mage nodded, rubbing his throat once more. "I'll admit, that thing is strong. And may even be gaining strength."

"But it's still out there!" said Daine. "It went out the door. It's loose!"

"What _is_ it?" Kel shook her head in wonder. "It came out of nowhere…and why give me that strange warning if it just wants to hurt me? And why _me_?"

"All good questions," replied Numair, clambering to his feet, with Daine supporting him. "And ones I am going to find the answers to soon enough. If I'm correct and that thing has crossed over from the Divine Realms, then it must have found some way through the new barriers. The Royal Library has plenty of books on the subject, maybe Jon might know where some are and he needs to be warned anyway, this could be a threat to the realm…"

He was still talking to himself as he left the room.

Daine hesitated for a moment. She looked earnestly down at Kel, still on the floor. "Numair'll find what manner of beastie that is, Kel. Don't worry. For now, I'd get some rest and stay close to the Palace. That thing is still lurking about, there's no telling what it could do." She paused, looking uncomfortable. "And I _am_ really sorry. About earlier. So's Jump, he's beside himself with worry about what he did to your hand."

"Seriously," said Kel, hugging the dog close to her. "It's ok. I probably would have done the same."

As Daine left the room, Neal commented, "You know, all I wanted was a peaceful wedding. Thanks to you Mindelan, I get lumbered with unrequited love, childbirth and evil beings."

"Hey it's not my fault…_what_ unrequited love?"

"Erm…Dom ring any bells?"

Neal grinned as colour flooded back into his friend's cheeks. His expression turned serious once more as he studied her. "Kel…maybe I should postpone my honeymoon. Whatever this thing is…I'm worried about you. Yuki would understand."

"Neal, no," Kel shook her head, as she patted Jump on the head and gently lifted him off her lap. "Help me up? My knees feel a bit watery."

Grasping her right hand, Neal tugged Kel to her feet, noticing for the first time she was holding her left hand close to her chest. Blood soaked her tunic where it rested against the material. "Is that what Daine meant? What happened?"

"Nothing, it's ok."

But Neal realised that as they had started talking about Kel's hand, Jump whined and lay flat on the floor, covering his eyes with a paw. It was only then Neal saw he had blood on his muzzle.

"_Jump_ bit you?"

Kel pulled a face. "He didn't think it was me. He could sense the creature. It confused him. He didn't mean it."

Propping his hands on his hips, Neal blew through his nose in frustration. "Whether he meant it or not, Lady Knight, that's a nasty bite; it needs cleaning and a healer's attention. Come on." He grabbed one of her arms and slung it over his shoulder, walking her out of the room, protesting all the way.

Jump followed them, a dejected tail hanging between his legs.


	15. Chaperone

15

Tiptoeing back into the room, Dom quietly shut the door behind him. He placed the jug of water and grapes he had been carrying down on the bedside table and settled himself back down in the chair.

He looked over at the sleeping figure in the bed and sighed through his nose. The story Neal had told him before he had left for his honeymoon was the strangest thing he had heard for a long time – and Dom had faced spidrens and Stormwings before. If Daine hadn't backed up the tale with her own account, Dom would still be wondering if the shock of marriage hadn't affected his younger cousin's mind.

The soft snores that had been the only sound in the room for the last few hours stopped and, with a loud snort, Kel opened her eyes.

"Morning," grinned Dom.

She lay there for a moment, on her front, staring back at him through sleepy hazel eyes. Then she blinked and pushed herself onto her elbows.

"Dom?" she said. "What're you doin' in m'room?"

"Meathead told me to keep an eye on you in case any weird shadows tried to possess you. Or something to that effect."

Kel flopped down onto her pillow again. "Oh Mithros, I'd hoped that'd been a dream."

"How are you feeling?"

"Like Peachblossom's stamped on my head." Kel sat up with a yawn and ran her fingers through her ruffled hair.

"You've, erm…" Dom tried, not quite sure how to put it nicely. "On your…" He waved a finger at her face.

Putting a hand up to her cheek, Kel felt the line of saliva there and promptly went scarlet. She wiped it quickly off with the sleeve of her shirt.

"How's the hand doing?" Dom asked quickly, to stop himself from bursting into laughter.

"Fine," Kel wiggled the fingers on her left hand. "Another lovely scar to add to my collection." She reached over and poured herself a mug of water. "How long was I asleep for?"

"Since Neal healed your hand, which was yesterday afternoon. It's morning now, still fairly early mind."

Kel scrunched up her nose. "Lovely. I hate healings, they always seem like a waste of time."

"Well, in all fairness you looked like you could do with the sleep."

"Thanks Dom," Kel muttered. Her stomach rumbled. "Gods, I'm _starving_!"

"I brought fruit."

She eyed the bunch of grapes. "They'll do for an appetiser, but what I could really do with is a proper breakfast. Let me get washed and dressed and then I'll meet you in the Own mess hall, all right?"

Dom nodded, but as he got to the door, he turned back. "Will you be ok? What about the shadow thing?"

"I'm sure I'll be fine."

Feeling a little unsure, Dom left the room. He shook his head as he walked to the mess hall.

_What in Mithros' name is that girl going to get herself into next?_

xxx

Once Kel had worked her way through two bowls of porridge, three slices of cooked ham, an egg, an apple and two heavily buttered rolls, she was feeling a whole lot better.

Placing her fork on her plate with a contented sigh, Kel went to pick up her cup of juice but stopped as she realised Dom was staring at her.

"What?"

"I have never seen someone eat so much in such a short space of time before!" he gave an amazed laugh.

_Brilliant,_ thought Kel, fighting to keep her face Yamani calm, _not only does Dom think that you're lovesick, but he also now thinks you're a glutton._

"Healings make me hungry, that's all," she grumbled.

Dom chuckled again, getting to his feet to clear his tray away. Picking her own up, Kel followed him.

_Oh, and don't forget he also now knows that you dribble in your sleep. Smooth, Mindelan. Very smooth._

They put their trays away and wandered out of the mess.

"What now then, Lady Knight?" When she raised her eyebrows at him, Dom continued. "Meathead told me to keep an eye on you, and that's what I'm going to do. So, what do you want to do next?"

"I don't need a babysitter!" Kel put her hands on her hips.

"Don't think of it as babysitting…think of it as…I'm your chaperone for the next day or so." Dom grinned. He held out an arm to her and bowed. "M'Lady."

Kel shook her head and walked off briskly, forcing Dom to trot to catch up with her.

"I was only joking…slow down!" He drew level with her. "Where are you going anyway?"

"I'm going to see Lalasa and the new baby," she replied shortly.

"What about that shadow thing?"

Kel made a cross noise. "To be honest I'd like to forget about it for a couple of hours. I'm sure that Numair and Daine and whoever else they've roped in will come up with something. And I'm sure that I'll get dragged into whatever it is. But my friend's just had a baby and I would like to see her. Is that all right with you, M'Lord?"

"Of course," said Dom softly. "Sorry."

_Don't be angry with Dom, it's not his fault. You're just cranky because you had a healing and were terrified witless by whatever that was yesterday. Gods…I hope Numair doesn't tell them anything about what happened…when the shadow changed and became…_

Shaking her head to rid herself of those thoughts, Kel made herself slow down and smile at Dom. "No, I should be sorry. But really, you don't have to keep an eye on me. I'm a big girl; I can take care of myself."

"And risk Meathead's wrath when he comes back? No thank you! At the risk of sounding un-chivalrous, I _know_ you can take care of yourself. Try telling Neal something so sensible when he's having one of his little dramas." Dom paused. "Unless…unless you don't want me hanging about…I'd understand…"

Kel had to laugh. "Dom, it's fine. I'm more than happy for you to tag along. Besides, I think Lalasa would like to thank you for your help the other night."

"I didn't really do anything…" Dom muttered, blushing. He smiled at her. "Weird goings on and shadows aside, Kel, it'll be nice to spend some time with you. I've missed you."

She smiled back at him. "I've missed you too."

And, just like that, a tiny flame of hope reignited in her.


	16. Meetings and Prophecies

**Hello lovely peoples! Apologies for the lack of updates, but I've been busy lately doing bridesmaid duties (always the bridesmaid, never the bride...sigh! LOL!) **

**Thanks as always to those people still reading and reviewing. To those of you wondering whether this is ever going to turn into a Kel/Dom story...well you'll just have to keep wondering! HAHA! (Sorry "Booknerds"...but thanks for your reviews! And also to "Spazzysassyangel" who always sticks by through thick and thin! :o) )**

**Anyhoo, on with the motley. I don't own any of the characters you recognise, blah-de-blah, etc.**

**Enjoy :oP**

16

"Are we supposed to say it looks lovely even when it looks like a red raisin?"

Dom winced as Kel drove her elbow into his ribs. Thankfully, Lalasa had been busy fussing with a blanket and hadn't noticed.

"Here we are. Do you want a cuddle, My Lady?"

Kel smiled at the dressmaker. "I'd love one." And a beaming Lalasa placed the tiny creature in the blanket in Kel's arms. All Kel could think of, as she gazed into the small sleeping face was that, yes unfortunately like most new-borns, he did look rather like a red raisin. _Damn Dom!_

Quietly shifting her weight in the chair, so she didn't disturb the baby, Kel looked at Lalasa bustling round the small living room of her and Gethin's apartment above his bakery.

"How are you feeling now?" asked Kel.

The smile on Lalasa's face did not completely distract Kel from the dark shadows under her friend's face. "Very tired and quite sore still. But…I can't even begin to describe how much love I feel for that little man. I'm the happiest I've ever been I think."

"I can see why," commented Dom, stroking the baby's cheek with a gentle finger. "He's a handsome fellow." Kel hastily swallowed the comment that rose in her throat. "Have you named him yet?"

Lalasa's grin grew broader. "We have. You are looking at Kellan Tobias Nealan Domitan Baker."

There was a brief silence in which both Kel and Dom stared at Lalasa.

"Take out the Tobias and the Baker and you have a perfectly rhyming baby!" murmured Dom.

Kel glared at her friend, before turning back to Lalasa. "I don't know what to say…we don't deserve to have anyone named after us."

"Speak for yourself," came a mutter from her side.

"You do," said Lalasa, looking stubborn and pleased at the same time – if that were possible. "If it were not for all of you, he might not even be here. And if it wasn't for you, My Lady, I certainly wouldn't be where I am today."

"I don't think – "

Kel was interrupted. "I'll hear nothing more on the matter." Lalasa smiled as little Kellan stirred and whimpered in his namesake's arms. "I think someone needs changing. Anyone care to give me a hand."

A wicked smile flitted across Kel's face. "I think Dom would love to learn how to change a baby." She was rewarded by the look of sheer horror that crossed his expression.

xxx

A little while later found the Lady Knight and her newly acquired chaperone strolling up a street in Corus, soaking up the late afternoon sun in a comfortable silence.

"Do you want one?" asked Dom. "A baby, I mean."

So many thoughts and answers swirled round Kel's head momentarily that she almost walked straight into a vendor's cart. Glancing at Dom's face, she realised the question was totally innocent and breathed a sigh of relief.

"Someday, maybe. Not while there's a chance I could be called off to war at any moment. I think when I'm older and…" here she paused and could feel her cheeks colouring. She seemed to blush so easily lately. "…_if_ I find someone who I decide to marry and I've taken time off from active duty. But yes. I would, I think."

A few steps later, she hesitantly added, "What about you?"

Dom seemed to give it some thought. "It had never really been an issue before. But, now…well I'm thirty soon. It's not that old, but it's also…it makes you think about these things I guess. I would have to leave the Own though. That's not something I'm planning on doing any time soon."

The silence that followed was no longer totally comfortable. Kel was sincerely wishing that Dom had not brought up the subject.

She was about to try and bring the subject onto lighter things, when a commotion up ahead caught their attention. There was a large crowd gathered round a speaker on a platform and things seemed to be getting quite heated.

"What's going on?"

"Not sure. Let's see if we can get closer."

It was not hard to squeeze their way through the crowd. Both Kel and Dom were bigger than most people, and the tunics of a knight and a member of the King's Own meant folks tended to get out of their way quickly enough.

Soon they were at the front – close enough to see the speaker. He was dressed in filthy white robes; his long matted hair could have been any colour – it was hard to see under all the dirt.

"The end is coming!" he shouted at his audience. "The darkness has entered this world and the whole of the Mortal Realms is in danger. The gods are sick of our warring! They have sent us a messenger!"

"Is that messenger you, by any chance mate?" jeered a man to Kel's left. Several people chuckled.

"Not me! A dark shadow has entered the world. A shadow that will consume us all, unless the chosen messenger speaks up. We have limited time. The gods are angry! And yet in their mercy they are giving us this final chance!"

"Dom…" said Kel out the side of her mouth. "Did you hear what he said about…?"

"That shadow?" Dom looked sceptical. "Coincidence. This man's clearly a few slices short of a loaf."

"Still…" Kel went to continue, but stopped when the speaker's gaze lit upon her.

His eyes were a strange turquoise colour – bright in his emaciated face. A long skinny finger thrust out towards her. "You!" the man whispered. "You are the one! You are the messenger!"

Kel's hand strayed to the hilt of her sword. "Me?"

"The messenger is amongst us! A knight of the realm! You are to save us Sir Knight! You are to be the one to save us from the gods' wrath!"

The crowd around her started to mutter. Kel tried to back up a couple of paces, but the press of people behind her was too great.

"I'm sorry…you've got the wrong person, I'm…"

"Hey, isn't that the Lady Knight?" came a voice from the crowd.

_Oh brilliant._ Kel closed her eyes briefly. This was all she needed.

"Kel," whispered Dom, tugging her arm. "Let's get out of here."

She agreed, but it was a lot harder to get out than it was to get in. And the speaker was not about to just let her walk away.

"Our saviour is here! The Protector of the Small is amongst us! She is the one who will bring peace to the realm!" He was screaming now, spit flying from his mouth into his tangled beard.

As Kel and Dom elbowed their way through the crush of people, she suddenly felt hands grip her arm.

Turning, she saw the man had left his platform and was clinging on to her. "You must save us!" he shouted, alcohol laden breath blowing in her face.

The crowd had stepped away from them slightly, but Dom had gotten separated from her somehow. She could see him towering above people as he tried to make his way back to her.

"Listen," she said calmly, trying to detach his hands from her as gently as possible. He was strong for someone so thin, but she didn't want to hurt him if she could help it. "You need to calm down. Whatever the matter is, I'm sure it can be sorted." She didn't want to mention the shadow she had seen. That might turn the incredulous crowd into a frightened one; that would be dangerous.

Finally Kel managed to prise his hands off her. He tried to fling himself at her again, but she grabbed his arms as he did, twisted, and got him into some sort of hold. The man wriggled in vain.

"I'm going home now. You're not to follow me. I suggest you go and find somewhere quiet to sit and sober up and have a think. Let us sort out any problems the realm might have, that's our job. Understand? And don't touch a Lady if she hasn't asked you to. Didn't your mother teach you manners?" Her voice was soft and reasonable.

He was muttering incoherently, but as Kel tightened her grip meaningfully, he fell silent and nodded.

"That's right mate, do as the nice Lady says. If you're lucky she might give you a kiss!" Kel looked for the owner of that voice, but nobody would meet her furious hazel eyes.

"And if that guy's lucky, I'll find him and give him a damn sight more than a kiss," she growled under her breath. Finally she released the speaker, satisfied he was not going to fling himself at her again. The skinny man crumpled to the floor.

"Masters," said Kel, nodding to the crowd around her. "Mistresses. I do believe the show is over. Be about your businesses."

A few of them bowed or curtsied to her; the rest simply wandered off looking disgruntled.

Dom finally managed to get to her. "Are you all right?"

"Fine," Kel replied, shaking her head in disbelief. "Though I think lately I just need to sit in a darkened room by myself to avoid trouble."

"Probably advisable," commented Dom dryly, sounding for a moment just like Neal. He looked at the now rocking speaker on the floor. "What about him?"

Kel put her hands on her hips, blowing through her nose. "Actually, I think we should take him to the Palace. He seems to know _something_ about this shadow. Numair might be able to get some information out of him."

Between them they hauled the man to his feet. Dom wrinkled his nose. "Ugh…have you ever heard of _washing_?"

"Dom," said Kel, warningly. The man seemed to be almost unaware that they were even there. He was obviously either totally drunk or totally mad.

"Come on, the quicker we get him to the Palace, the quicker we can have baths. I think we're going to need them!"


	17. A Lance and a Fist

17

Baron George Cooper of Pirate's Swoop scratched the end of his large nose. His hazel eyes looked directly at Dom and Kel.

"We haven't been able to get much sense out of him to be honest. He's completely off his rocker, to coin a phrase. However, our mages have confirmed that he does have traces of the Sight and may therefore have truly foreseen something connected with your shadow."

"It's not _my_ shadow, sir," said Kel firmly.

"Hmm…" George did not look so sure. "Be that as it may, Lady Knight, there is no denying that it chose _you_ to deliver its warning to. And our crazy prophet picked you out of a crowd."

Dom shrugged. "To be honest, sir, it's not hard to pick Kel out of a crowd. Couldn't it just be coincidence?"

The Baron shrugged. "It could…still I don't like this. Numair and Jon have been at it all day in the library and haven't turned up much on the subject. This fellow's idea that it is a warning from the gods doesn't make me feel any happier about having that thing loose about Tortall."

Dom felt Kel shudder slightly next to him. "I don't feel good about that either, to be honest sir, but be that as it may, what can we _do_ about it in the meantime?"

"Not much," admitted George. "Until we find out more information about it, all I can say is: be on your guard."

As they left the Baron's office, Kel's Yamani mask slid from her face to be replaced with a dejected expression.

"It'll be all right, Kel," said Dom, putting his arm around her shoulder. "We'll work something out."

She sighed. "I know. I just wish…" she trailed off, leaving the sentence unfinished.

"Yes?" Dom prompted.

She blinked at him and then rubbed a hand over her eyes. "Sorry, Dom. I don't know. I think I need to be alone for a little while."

"But Meathead said…"

"Right now, I couldn't give a fig for what Neal said, Dom. He's busy enjoying himself on his honeymoon and I'm stuck here with…" she shook her head. "Listen, I'm probably not the best company at the moment. I'm going to saddle Peachblossom and go hit some stuff with a big stick. I'll see you in a while."

Dom stood there watching her as she stalked off down the corridor. Nothing he said seemed to be right at the moment. He thought they were getting on better since going to see Lalasa together, but then…

He worried about leaving her on her own. Lady Knight or no, Dom was not comfortable about the idea of a mystical shadow stalking one of his friends. But then, he also realised that mollycoddling Kel was about as insulting as he could get.

Feeling utterly conflicted, Dom spun on his heel and walked straight into a pulsing dark cloud.

It covered him, enveloping him in stinging darkness before disappearing; almost as if it had crept right under his skin.

xxx

"Charge."

Peachblossom's muscles bunched underneath her, as Kel rose sure and steady in the stirrups.

Her horse may have been growing older, but he was not quite ready to be put out to pasture yet. They flew down the practice ring straight for the target. Kel settled her grip on the lance, bracing for the impact as it smashed into the wooden shield on the quintain dummy.

The wooden rings she normally practised with seemed too flimsy today. Kel had needed something solid she could smack her lance into, to get rid of her frustration. It was working, slowly. With every pass at the quintain she felt a little of the tension seep out of her.

Slowing and turning Peachblossom, Kel made her way back to the other end of the practise ring, nudging the dummy back into position as she did so.

"Kel!"

A shout made her look around. Dom was standing at the fence, waving her over.

She reined Peachblossom to a halt. "What?"

"Come over here! I need to tell you something important!"

Sliding off Peachblossom's back, Kel patted him on the withers before striding over to Dom. She leant her lance up against the fence and vaulted over it.

"What's so important?" asked Kel, taking off her helm and running her fingers through her sweaty hair.

Dom smiled at her. "This," he said.

And punched her in the face.


	18. Dom

18

It was the third painful, nasty surprise Kel had received in the last three days. Actually, the fourth if you were to count passing out after Lalasa gave birth.

She wasn't expecting it. Why would she be expecting it? And so she hadn't blocked it, or ducked, or anything you would usually do if someone went to punch you in the face.

And so Dom's fist connected solidly with her cheekbone. There was an unpleasant crunching sound. Then pain bloomed in both her face and the back of her head where the blow had literally knocked her flat.

_And now I know what people mean when they talk about seeing stars,_ mused Kel, watching placidly as twinkling lights danced in front of her vision.

A pair of hands grabbed her by the front of her padded practise jacket. Instinctively, Kel grasped the wrists of her attacker and dug her thumbnails in the soft flesh between the bones.

There was a yelp and the hands let go.

Kel got onto her knees and managed to barely dodge a savage kick aimed at her head. She rolled out of the way and into a standing position in one fluid movement.

Her spinning head was settling down, although the vision in her right eye was much to be desired as her cheek swelled rapidly. She set herself in a defensive position and stared at the man who had hit her.

"Dom…what in Mithros' name are you _doing_?"

In answer he ran at her. Kel dodged to one side, grabbing his arm as he flew past and flipping him neatly over her hip. He fell with a bump into the dirt.

Kel sat on him, pinning his arms to the ground with her hands.

"Dom, what…" she paused as she looked into his eyes. They were not their usual stunning blue. Instead they were totally black.

Dom's face creased into a smile. "Hello again, Lady Knight."

It was Dom's voice, but harsher. Kel simply stared back at him for a moment.

"You again," she hissed finally. "What have you done to Dom?"

"Oh, he's still in here. I can see why you like him, Lady Knight. He's a strapping lad isn't he?"

"Shut up!"

"Oooh, the Lady protests too much! Your feelings go deeper than I realised. Than Dom realises. Do you know that he had no clue about how you felt until his cousin told him? He hadn't even _considered_ it. Hadn't even _noticed_ you."

That hurt, more than Dom's fist had. Kel knew it was the shadow again, getting to her, trying to mess with her head again. But it still hurt because she knew it was the truth.

"I'm giving you," Kel said, her voice soft, "Five seconds to get out of my friend's head. One…"

"Or you'll what?" The creature in Dom laughed.

"Two…"

"That mage is not here to help you. There's no one here to help you."

"Three…"

"You're on your own Lady Knight. Again."

"Four…"

Dom's head came up and his lips met hers.

Kel was so stunned that she let go her hold on Dom's arms.

He pushed her, hard, so that she fell backwards off of him, freeing him from her weight. Kel tucked her knees in and kicked out, connecting with Dom's chest before he could come at her again.

_Oh Dom, I'm so sorry,_ she thought, getting to her feet. She didn't want to hurt him – but right at this moment, she seemed to have no choice.

_If I can hold him off for long enough, someone might come. Or maybe I can make it back to the Palace and get some help. I'm a fast runner. Or on Peachblossom…_

Peachblossom. If Kel could get back over into the practise ring, she would have an advantage. She could see her horse desperately pawing at the fence, tossing his head. The whites of his eyes were showing and he bared his teeth at Dom – sensing, as Jump had, the creature within.

But Shadow Dom was between her and the ring. He was on his feet again too, fury filling his face now, his black eyes boring into hers, as if he could see right into her very soul.

Kel tried moving left. He mirrored her.

"What is it that you want with me?" Kel said, trying to dodge to the right. Once more, Dom was there, blocking her.

"I have been sent, Lady Knight, as a warning."

"From who?"

Dom tapped his nose with a finger. "That would be telling. All you need to know is that I am the worst nightmares you will ever have. That I can make people see deep into their own hearts, so that the dark and frightening core is revealed that even they do not know about."

"But why?"

"You humans. All you do is make war on each other for this reason or that. The gods gave you this world to enjoy and you spend time destroying it and each other."

"Not all of us do," answered Kel, trying to distract it by talking. "Some of us care about the world we live in."

"And yet you became a warrior. The very essence of what is wrong with this world. A killing machine."

"I became a knight to protect the realm."

"Oh yes…_Protector of the Small_. And how do you protect the realm? With your physical strength. With your weapons. By killing and destroying."

Kel snarled and threw herself at Dom. He was too quick for her, as if he had anticipated her move before she had even thought it. His foot connected with her ankles and she tripped. Strong hands on her arms twisted and suddenly she was trapped against the fence of the training ring, pinioned by Dom.

Struggling, Kel tried to throw him off, but he seemed weirdly strong. She kicked out at him, but he kneed her in the stomach, winding her.

As she gasped for air, Kel looked straight into his face. For a millisecond, the eyes that glared back at her changed from black to blue and Dom whispered, "Kel…help me!"

Then those eyes were black again, and his hands were around her throat, choking off her already limited air supply. Kel clawed at his hands, but the shadow was too strong and his face was already starting to fade in front of her and a rushing had started in her ears…

Something large and brown brushed past her face. There was a loud scream. The hands around her throat loosened, as something bashed against her.

Jerking to the side, Kel managed to throw herself clear, coughing until her starving lungs filled with oxygen again. As her vision cleared, she saw Peachblossom had leant over the fence to grab Dom's shoulder in his jaws. Now the horse was shaking Dom like a terrier would, bashing him against the fence.

And Dom was screaming.

"No Peachblossom! Stop it!" It may have been the shadow her horse was fighting, but it was still Dom's body, it was still her friend in there.

Her horse ignored her, dragging the man over the fence. He dropped Dom and reared.

"NO! DON'T!"

Dom tried to roll away, but the destrier's hooves smashed down onto his legs.

Another scream rang in her ears as Kel leapt the fence once more. She threw herself at her horse just as a large black shape left Dom's body and flew off into the distance.

Peachblossom shook his head and stepped back a pace as Kel flung herself in between him and Dom.

"Peachblossom! Leave him alone!" she screeched.

The horse stood very still suddenly and sniffed the air like a dog would. He turned his head to fix Kel with a large brown eye.

Kel fought to breathe normally, to stay calm. "Just move away. Please."

As Peachblossom complied, Kel turned and crouched down by her friend. Dom's eyes were shut. He was bleeding heavily from his left shoulder, where Peachblossom's teeth had found their mark. His clothes were torn where he had been battered against the fence and his legs…

Kel did not want to look at his legs.

"Dom!" Kel whispered, patting his cheek gently. "Dom? Wake up! Please!"

There was a soft groan and his eyelids fluttered. His eyes were blue again, Kel could see that clearly. They were blue, they were blue, they were…

Focussing on her face. Widening. Filling with pain and terror.

"Oh Kel…" his voice left him as a croak.

"It's ok, it'll be ok, don't worry, it'll be fine, we'll get someone, it's all going to be all right," Kel was babbling, trying to make it all right with simply words.

"Oh Kel. I'm sorry."

A cold feeling was settling over her heart. "You don't need to be sorry."

"I'm sorry," Dom was sobbing now. "Oh gods Kel, I'm so sorry."

The rage was a distant thing, an icy emotion gripping her insides. _It's not you that needs to be sorry Dom. It's the gods. It's that shadow. It's me. _

Someone was going to pay for this. And Keladry of Mindelan was going to make sure they did.


	19. Neal Returns

**A big thanks once more to those lovely reviewers of mine! Hope you're all still enjoying! I'm sorry, I don't have it in me to do a straight forward romantic tale...there's got to be a bit of drama in it somewhere! :oP**

**Enjoy...**

19

When a noble – someone he didn't know – stepped in his way, Neal simply carried on running, bowling the other man over.

"I say, what do you…"

The voice faded into the distance as Neal's long legs continued moving at speed.

He reached the healers' wing and saw someone he recognised.

"Where…?"

No need for explanations; the woman pointed the way and Neal continued running until he reached the door.

Only then did he stop, breathing heavily, staring with trepidation at the wood that separated him from whatever was within. Now he was here, now that he'd _finally_ made it back after a journey that seemed to take twice as long as normal…Neal did not actually want to go in.

The door opened as he stood there and Neal flinched back from it. A healer exited and froze when he saw who was in the corridor.

"Sir Nealan, how…?"

"Speaking spell. Someone contacted us. Luckily we hadn't made it too far out of Corus. How…?" His voice failed him.

The healer looked kindly at him. "We've done all we can. The minor injuries were fairly easy to mend, but his legs…" Here the man paused and looked uncomfortable. "The left one's fixable, but the right shinbone was completely shattered. We've done the best we can, but whether he'll have full use of it again is…unsure. The problem now is this fever. If he doesn't pull through it soon…"

Neal had been a healer long enough to know what the man was trying to say. He took a deep breath to compose himself. "Thank you."

"The Lady Knight's in there with him. She hasn't barely left his side for the last two days."

Neal nodded, and the man left after patting him awkwardly on the shoulder.

He stepped through the door.

Someone had opened a window to let some fresh air in the room and the bedside table was covered with flowers from well-wishers.

Dom lay in the bed; his dark hair was stiff with old sweat and his skin unnaturally pale. Bruised hands were clenched on top of the blankets, which hid his legs. Neal was grateful for that.

There were two chairs next to the bed. Neal took the unoccupied one and sat there in silence for a bit, gazing at his older cousin.

Kel finally broke the quiet. "Where's Yuki?"

"In our rooms, unpacking," he replied, his voice as soft as hers. "We came back as soon as we heard."

She nodded. She did not look at him once, only kept her eyes trained on the sleeping figure as if she could force him better by sheer willpower. There were dark smudges under her hazel eyes, but other than that her face was perfectly blank.

They sat there for a while longer. Saying nothing. Doing nothing. Only watching.

Finally a couple of healers came in and broke the silence. "It's time for his sponge bath. If you two could give us some time. Go and rest, get something to eat maybe." The young man's voice was kind, but it went through Neal like a knife.

It was Kel who nodded and stood. She put a firm hand on Neal's arm; guided him to his feet and out of the door.

He wasn't really aware of where they were walking to, until they had reached the noble's quarters. They were outside Kel's room; she was opening the door.

"Do you want to come in for a bit?" she said, still not meeting his eyes.

Neal nodded and entered behind her. Kel shut the door. Neither of them sat down, but stood in the middle of the room, both staring at nothing.

Kel raised her head and took a breath as if to say something, but as Neal's eyes met hers, he interrupted.

"What _happened_?"

She paled, but her expression did not change. "The shadow. It came back. But this time…"

"That _thing_ did that to Dom?"

There was a silence. "Not exactly."

"What do you mean: 'not exactly'?"

Kel bit her lip. "It possessed Dom. It made him…it made him attack me…we had a fight."

"_You_ did that to Dom?" Neal could hear the disbelief in his own voice.

"No!" Kel's neutral expression melted into a horrified one. "Of course not…it was…" She paused again.

"Kel. Don't do this. Just tell me!"

Shutting her eyes, Kel whispered, "Peachblossom. Peachblossom did it."

"_What_!"

Kel's eyes flew open in response to his shout. "Neal, please, he didn't mean it, he was…"

"He _didn't mean it_? Oh that's all right then! It makes it all better that my cousin is lying there in a bed fighting for his life and probably unable to walk properly ever again. But it's ok, because Peachblossom _didn't mean it_!"

"Neal, don't be like that, calm down…"

"_Calm down!_ Your evil, sadistic, good for nothing horse has half-killed a member of my family and you're standing there telling me to _calm down_?" Neal was suddenly finding it hard to think. Somehow, without realising, he had drawn his sword. "_Where is he?_"

Kel looked a little frightened. "Who?"

"_You know who!_ Your bloody horse Kel, the beast who trampled Dom almost to death, _where is he?_"

"In the sta – wait, what are you going to do?"

"What someone sensible should have done years ago; put that blasted creature out of its misery!"

And then Kel was standing between him and the door and she also had her sword drawn and her face was like stone.

"Neal, don't. It wasn't his fault, Peachblossom was protecting me…"

"I don't know why, you're always at pains to make it clear to all of us that you can bloody well protect yourself. It's not an excuse Kel!"

He saw the hurt show briefly in her eyes, before being tucked away behind her Yamani Lump face.

"The shadow confused him," she said, her voice eerily calm. "Like it confused Jump. Peachblossom didn't realise it was Dom. And the shadow made Dom almost kill me – Neal _he almost killed me!_"

"And your horse has almost killed Dom! Get out of my way Kel, he needs to pay for this…"

"For Mithros' sake Neal – he's a horse!"

"I don't care!"

"Neal!"

Somehow, Kel's long fingered hand was wrapped around his wrist; her grip was like iron.

"Put the sword down Neal." He looked into her hazel eyes and saw so many emotions; how could someone have so many emotions in their eyes when their face showed none of them…?

The sword fell from his hand and clanged on the floor. Another clang sounded as Kel's followed suit, because she needed both hands as she caught him before he fell. Tears – ones he had fought all day to contain – were now pouring down his face, making his words almost incoherent.

"I can't…I can't lose him…too…not after…my brothers…oh gods not Dom as well…"

Kel deposited him onto her bed, sitting carefully next to him and gathering him into her arms. She rocked him for a while, as he wept, and soon he realised that her own tears were making his hair damp.

When they had both finished, they sat up, once more not meeting each other's eyes.

A handkerchief wavered into view. Neal took it and wiped his face.

At the sound of Kel blowing her nose loudly next to him, Neal raised his tear-stained face to meet hers.

"I'm sorry. I don't really blame Peachblossom, I guess…"

"It's all right," she replied thickly, wiping her nose. "If anyone should get the blame, it's me. If that _thing_ wasn't fixated on me then…well it wouldn't have gone after Dom."

"You can't blame yourself, Kel. You didn't ask for this to happen."

She shrugged. "Still…Numair and the King have gotten no further with their research. Some mad prophet was babbling something incoherent about this, but Baron George can't get anything more from him. I'm so scared that it's going to go after someone else, Neal…but I can't _do_ anything about it!"

Neal stared down at the handkerchief she had given him, lost in thought. "What did you say about a prophet?"

She gave a derisive snort. "Oh, he's being kept in a secure room somewhere in the palace. The man's a drunk and a lunatic. The poor fellow needs help rather than locking up, but they're keeping an eye on him to see if he turns up anything else useful."

"Well," Neal got to his feet. "I can't sit around here doing nothing. What do you say to paying this man a visit ourselves?"

He held out his hand to her. She stared at it for a moment, before giving him a watery grin. "I'm sorry about your honeymoon Neal…but I'm so glad you're here."

He smiled back at her. "I shouldn't have left you alone, Mindelan. You know the trouble you get yourself into when I'm not around."

A vision of Dom, lying in that sweat soaked bed, flitted across his mind's eye. Neal winced inwardly. By the look on Kel's face, she had just had a similar thought.

Grasping his hand, Kel pulled herself up to standing. "Come on then Queenscove. Let's go question ourselves a prophet."


	20. The Nightmare Folk

**Wow...ok so it has been an extremely long time! I'm sorry to leave you all hanging for so long, but work coupled with another case of severe writer's block has prevented any flashes of inspiration!**

**Anyway, thanks to everyone who is still reading and reviewing. Hopefully not too many of you have given up on this by now! It will come to a conclusion eventually! Will that conclusion be Dom/Kel...well you'll just have to wait and see about that one!**

**As ever I don't own any characters you recognise! Happy reading! :o)**

20

"The great gods sent it! The warning must be delivered! Otherwise it will consume us all!"

"Is it just me?" muttered Neal. "Or is he starting to repeat himself?"

Kel could feel the tension in her neck spreading up into the beginnings of a ferocious headache. They had been sitting with the mad prophet for the best part of an hour and as of yet, nothing he said seemed to make any sense.

She tried again. "I understand that. But what is the message? And why does it keep trying to kill me if it needs me?"

The man's bright turquoise eye fixed upon her face for the first time during their conversation – as if seeing finally seeing her properly. "Kill you? No, My Lady. It does not want to kill you!"

"You could have fooled me."

"The great messenger wants to possess you totally. But you keep fighting against your calling. You are proving too strong for it. You must give in to it wholly."

The thought of allowing the shadow to possess her totally made Kel feel ill. She didn't want that thing anywhere near her.

"Fine, all right let's just say we believe this…why Kel?" said Neal. He was still looking pale and red eyed. Kel was relieved he had forgotten about his earlier desire to take revenge on Peachblossom. Her faithful old horse was shaken up enough by the incident as it was, without having to face a wrathful Neal wielding a sword.

"The messenger can only enter our world when the divide between the realms becomes thin. The messenger will choose someone who is strong enough to possess. The messenger will choose someone who has a pure heart."

Kel's head was thumping now. "But it keeps…the things it's been saying, it doesn't sound like it thinks I'm pure of heart."

The prophet shook his head and Kel was convinced she could see lice jumping from his beard onto the table in front of him. "The messenger can only enter our world when the divide…"

"All right, I think we've heard enough. Thank you for your help, sir." Neal's voice was remarkably patient. They knocked on the door to signal to the guard that they'd finished and left the room.

Pressing her fingers to her eyes, Kel blew through her nose in frustration. "Well that was pointless."

"Maybe not." At Neal's thoughtful tone, Kel looked at him.

"How do you mean?"

"I need to check my theory first. Come on, let's see if the king and Numair are still in the library."

xxx

The shadows were growing long, when Neal finally shouted, "Here!"

Three pairs of weary eyes looked up at him.

"Sir Nealan, please tell me that this time you have actually found something useful. I have had quite all I can bear of dead ends and false starts."

Neal's cheeks coloured at the tone in the king's voice. "My apologies sire, but this time I do believe I have it."

He shifted the book round and the others crowded round to see the page better. Kel was uncomfortably aware of how close her shoulder was to King Jonathon's. Her personal feelings towards the king were not favourable, but yet she did feel grateful to him for how much work he was putting in to finding out what the thing that was stalking her was.

"After all, Lady Knight," he'd said seriously, when she'd nervously broached the subject with him earlier. "I cannot afford to be too careful. This creature could be a serious threat to the realm and I need no trouble lurking around with the Scanran delegates here. There is too much at stake for me to ignore something like this."

Kel turned her attention back to the page Neal was showing them and took a sharp intake of breath.

"That's it then?"

The drawing was astonishingly accurate of the strange, shapeless mass Kel had seen. She nodded.

"The prophet said some things that made me think of something I had seen during my time at the university – a long time ago now, so I couldn't be sure. While researching a paper on the Divine Realms, I stumbled across this passage about the Dream King, Ganiel." Neal looked at Numair for confirmation.

The mage nodded, a rueful expression on his face. "I can't believe I didn't think of it before. But there are so many legends and myths…"

"What are we facing then, gentlemen?" asked the king.

"A Nimari – also commonly known as 'the nightmare folk'. They inhabit the Dream Realms but, the legend goes, are not always as much under the instruction of Ganiel as he would like."

"How do you mean?"

"The Dream King is strict with his subjects, allowing them only to affect people in sleep. He sometimes uses them to send messages. More often than not what we see played out in our minds as we slumber is Ganiel's way of helping us process the events of the day. However, the Nimari are often associated with so called 'night terrors' and are sometimes even linked with madness."

Numair paused and looked back at Neal, who was studying the page intently. He nodded distractedly. "It says here that the Nimari often disobey Ganiel, escaping the Dream Realms to taunt mortals. However, it also says that on very rare occasions, he does use them as messengers. Very rarely…because they are so hard for even him to control. They live by drawing on the darkest thoughts of mortals, so even when sent with a message they are often unreliable."

"Sounds more and more likely," said Kel, a little unsteadily.

"And listen to this: 'The Nimari can only enter the mortal realms when the divide between them becomes thin.' Which is what the prophet said. But he didn't say _how_. 'The divide between the realms thins enough for the Nimari only when a mortal is passing from one realm to another, for example, in the case of death or at the birth of a child.'"

There was a heavy silence.

"Lalasa…" whispered Kel.

She was very aware of the three men staring at her. "So…if this thing…if this thing has been sent with a message…then the only way to get rid of it would be to do as the prophet says, isn't it? Let it possess me and deliver what it has to say."

"_No!"_

Startled by the unified shout, Kel blinked at them. "But…"

"Keladry," Numair's voice was serious. "We can't be certain this thing was even sent with a message."

"You were the first thing it saw as it entered into the mortal realms," added Neal. "It could be fixated on you for different reasons!"

"But how come I didn't see it when Lalasa gave birth? I only saw it afterwards."

"There was a lot going on and they are shape shifters. It would have been easy to conceal itself until it felt strong enough to confront you."

"Lady Knight, I expressly forbid you to allow this thing to possess you until we find a way to get rid of it," said the King firmly.

"But what about…the prophet said there was a message. How would he know, unless there really was one? It could be important." Kel couldn't quite believe she was arguing to let the horrible creature possess her totally.

"We don't know if he's been possessed as well. Or if he's mad or simply lying," replied Jonathon. "But until we do know, my word is final on this Lady Knight." His bright blue eyes seemed to bore into hers as if he knew she was already thinking about disobeying.

"It could really hurt you Kel," added Neal, quietly. "Look what happened to Dom."

That sent a pang through her heart. Kel had nearly forgotten about Dom in the last few minutes. The conversation that had just taken place had confirmed something in her mind.

_This is all my fault. If Dom doesn't pull through, or is crippled…it's my fault. And anything that happens next will be my fault unless I _do_ something about it. Who else would it hurt? Who else would it go after to get to me…?_

And a horrible realisation poured over Kel like ice water. There were any number of people whom the shadow could go after in order to get to her, but for some reason the image of a particular person…_persons…_had entered her mind unbidden.

She stood up so quickly the chair fell over backwards.

"Kel? What's wrong?" Neal said worriedly as the King and Numair simply stared.

"Oh Gods…" she whispered. "Neal, I think it's going to go after Lalasa and the baby!"


	21. Lalasa

21

The market in Corus was closing up for the night. Stall holders, busy packing away their wares, suddenly found the need to flatten themselves against the nearest wall to avoid being crushed by the hooves of two large horses that clattered past at alarming speed.

"Nobles," huffed the owner of a boot stall to his neighbour. "They jus' think they own th'place!"

It _was_ dangerous to be travelling at this pace down the main street of the city. Neal thought this over and over as he leant over the neck of his mare, urging her to keep up with Kel's new riding horse. It was proving difficult.

He also pondered the sanity of what they were doing. Kel had bolted from the library as if the Black God himself was after her. Nothing Neal could say, as he sprinted after her all the way to the stables, could make her stop and think. Almost before he knew what he was doing, Neal was saddling his own horse as fast as he could, barely having time to do the girth up properly as he vaulted onto her back to follow his friend.

If they really were facing down this shadow – if it even _was_ at Lalasa's – then they needed back up. And not swords. They needed Numair, or someone with a more powerful Gift than Neal was able to provide. But they had left Numair and the King standing confused in the library. Neal didn't think they even knew the way to Lalasa's house. _He_ didn't even know the way to Lalasa's house, which is why he was so desperately trying to keep Kel and her flying horse in sight.

He had tried to explain all this to Kel, but her haste to make sure her friend was all right was overriding her reason.

Kel pulled Arashi to a standstill so suddenly that Magewhisper almost went crashing into the back of her. Neal patted his snorting mare apologetically on the neck, before dismounting and following Kel up a narrow stairway that led to a small apartment above a dark baker's shop.

Neal was not as lucky as his horse. He _did_ crash into the back of a very stationary Kel, which was a little bit like walking into a brick wall.

"Ouch! What – "

"_Sssh!"_

Quietly, Kel drew her sword; no mean feat while standing on a dark landing which was about three foot square. Neal, following suit awkwardly, peered over her shoulder.

A very dim light flickered through the slightly ajar door. It was very quiet.

Too quiet.

On near-silent feet, Kel moved forward cautiously and pushed the door. It swung open with a slight creak. Neal winced.

Nothing.

They moved into the sitting room of the flat, which was lit by just one small candle. As their eyes adjusted to the faint light, at first nothing seemed awry.

Then Kel reached behind her and squeezed Neal's arm tightly. He looked at her questioningly, before following her gaze to the floor.

A pair of feet stuck out from underneath the table at the side of the room. They were motionless.

Wordlessly, Neal pushed past the Lady Knight and crouched down by the figure on the floor. His fingers glowed green briefly.

"Is…" Kel's whispered voice seemed oddly loud in the silence.

Neal grimaced. "Unconscious. A blow to the temple. I…"

He broke off at a new sound. A baby whimpering.

Clambering to his feet and clutching his sword tightly, Neal looked to where the sound was coming from.

Lalasa stepped out of an adjoining door, holding little Kellan in her arms.

"Thank Mithros," Neal breathed. He stepped forward. "Lalasa, what…"

He trailed off as Kel held her free arm out, blocking his way. Her other hand gripped her sword so tightly, Neal could see her knuckles turning white.

"Give me the baby," said Kel harshly.

Confused, Neal looked back at the crumpled form of Gethin on the floor and back at Lalasa. Her large, dark eyes seemed a deeper colour than normal…almost black…

She was smiling.

"Why, Lady Kel," Lalasa answered. Neal frowned. Her voice was…different. Harsher. Deeper. "I'm hurt you think I would harm such a delicate little thing as my own baby."

"He's not your baby." Kel's voice was flat. "Now, give him to me. And then leave."

"Oh, I don't know," sighed Lalasa. She lifted Kellan up to see his face better. The baby squirmed and gurgled. "I'm quite fond of the little chap you know. He did help me into this fine realm after all."

Understanding washed over Neal. "Kel…is that…has it…?"

Lalasa's smile widened as her black eyes roved over Neal's face. "Why, Sir Nealan. I don't believe we've had the pleasure yet." Her…_it's_…gaze flicked to Kel briefly. "Although, the Lady here would have liked the pleasure at one point I believe."

Confusion crept back in again. "What, I don't understand…" Neal glanced at Kel, who kept her eyes trained on Lalasa – the thing that was posing as Lalasa. She had her Yamani mask firmly in place.

The laugh that Lalasa gave made the hairs on the back of Neal's neck stand up. "Oh, this is wonderful! The Lady Knight never told you that she wanted _you_ once? Back when you were both pages? Before she'd laid eyes on your wonderful cousin that was, then she had a rather large change of heart. He is after all, more dashing, more handsome…or he was. How _is_ the dear sergeant anyway?"

Anger flashed through Neal like a flame. Only Kel's arm, which had not moved, stopped him from rushing forward and…and…

"Damn you!" he spat. "What do you want with us?"

"Not you," said the Shadow-Lalasa. She pointed. "Only her."

"Over my dead – "

"Neal," said Kel quietly. He stopped, as she turned her attention back to the _thing_ in front of them. "We end this now. Give Neal the baby. And then you can have me."

"_What! _Kel, no! You _can't!"_

"I can Neal. I must." Kel's voice had not changed. It was emotionless, smooth. "It won't end otherwise. Can't you see that?"

"But…but…"

Kel finally took her eyes off Lalasa, for a moment, and looked straight at him. Neal felt any argument crumble. He knew the look she had in her hazel eyes. It was the same look she'd had in Scanra, that first time, when they went after the refugees. Nothing he said would change her mind.

He had no words. He nodded.

Kel turned back to the Shadow-Lalasa, which was standing there with head cocked to one side, watching them curiously. "You'll let me in?"

The Lady Knight nodded.

"No resistance? I can pass on my message?"

Curiosity overtook Neal. "So there _is_ a message? Why can't you just tell us it now?"

The look that those black eyes shot him made him curl up inside.

"Just take Kellan, Neal," said Kel softly.

Despite every bone in his body screaming that this was wrong, Neal sheathed his sword and held his arms out. The thing that was currently Lalasa hesitated slightly. It looked over at Kel.

"I have your word on this?"

Kel sheathed her own sword. "My word as a knight of the realm."

Lalasa smiled. "And we know full well that you always keep your word, Lady Knight Keladry of Mindelan." She turned and passed Neal the bundle in her arms.

Clutching Kellan tightly, Neal stepped back, powerless, as the Shadow-Lalasa walked forward until it was standing directly in front of his best friend.

Kel stared down at the face of her ex-maid, with a deadpan expression. Neal couldn't tell what she was thinking behind that still mask of hers.

"What do I need to do?"

Lalasa smiled. "Nothing My Lady. Just let me in. No resisting. No fighting. Just let me into your mind totally." She raised her hands and rested them lightly on either side of Kel's head.

Kel's gaze drifted upwards to Neal. He found himself pleading with her silently, even though he knew it was useless.

The thing that had possessed Lalasa whispered, "What _fun_ we're going to have."

Kel's eyes widened with sudden terror, as a black _something_ flew out of Lalasa and engulfed Kel before disappearing.

The bodies of both women fell to the ground, leaving Neal standing alone in the dim room. In his arms, the baby stirred and began to cry.

"Oh Kellan," Neal whispered. "What have we done?"


	22. Perfect

**Hi-de-ho lovely readers. A massive thank you to everyone who is sticking with this story and still reviewing :o) You guys rock!**

**I'm afraid it's another short chapter and another cliffie. I can only apologise. There's a few reasons for this. Number one...I love a good cliffhanger! Just love them! And I find, well, having one at the end of a chapter makes you lot more inclined to read on. Secondly, this story is not as well planned as Welcome Back to Scanra. In fact, it's not planned at all. I'm writing it when I have both inspiration and time! Hence, the ending could go anyway at present! But won't it be exciting to find out? **

**As ever I own nothing you recognise and everything you don't! ;o) Enjoy!**

22

It struck Kel that this had not been one of her finer ideas.

She was stood once more on that flat grassy plain by the lake. Her mind. Warily, Kel glanced about her, but could see nothing untoward. The sky overhead was a calm blue and the air was perfectly still.

_Except for over there_, noted Kel. To her right, at one end of the lake, the sky was dark with storm clouds. As she stared at it, she heard a very distant rumble of thunder and saw a flash of lightning. Knowing that what she would find over there would probably be as bad as anything she could ever imagine, Kel took a deep breath and started walking purposefully in that direction.

She was getting closer when it dawned on her that she had no sword, or indeed weapon of any kind. Looking down at herself, Kel found she was clothed in the same simple, un-dyed, outfit she had worn for her Ordeal. Her feet were bare in the cool grass.

Despite this ominous discovery, she continued walking.

xxx

Neal only realised that he had been gritting his teeth when the speaking spell finally worked and the King's face popped up in the small handheld mirror Lalasa had lent him. Opening his mouth to speak, Neal's jaw started to ache furiously.

"Sir Nealan! What in Mithros' name is going on?"

"Sire, the situation is…well…" Neal paused and glanced behind him. A groggy looking Gethin was sitting on the low couch, holding an almost inconsolable Lalasa, who in turn was cradling an increasingly cranky Kellan in her arms.

On the floor, unmoving, lay his best friend. He had covered her with a blanket and propped a cushion under her head. She remained perfectly still except for the slow rise and fall of her breathing.

"It's not good," said Neal finally. "I need some assistance here. Master Numair if possible."

In the mirror Jonathon frowned. "I shall send him with some guards. What exactly _is_ the situation?"

Neal turned once more to look at Kel on the floor. With a sigh, he looked back at the King. "You're not going to like it. Not one bit…"

xxx

The wind was rising and the clouds were gathering overhead. Kel bit down the fear that was once more rising in her chest.

She was so tense and ready for something to happen, that it was almost a relief when the air in front of her _bent_ and wavered. From the shimmering patch in front of her stepped…

Herself. Clothed in her best tunic in Mindelan colours over chainmail, her glaive in one hand and her shield on her other arm.

Kel froze. Anything could happen next. She wanted to be ready for it when it did.

The other Kel smiled at her. "Relax, Lady Knight. I'm not here to fight you." And as if to prove it, she lay down the glaive and shield, and removed the helm from her head, shaking out tousled mousy brown hair.

"So…" Kel licked dry lips – _how could she have dry lips in her _mind? _It wasn't real, she had to remember at all times that it wasn't real._ "So…you're here. I've let you in. What's the message?"

The Shadow laughed, with Kel's voice. "But it _is_ real in here Keladry. More real than you could dream. And I'm not ready for my message yet."

Disappointment washed over her. "Why not?"

"It's not just for you. It's for the realm." The Shadow paused and cocked its head to one side. Kel saw that, in here, the Shadow's eyes were not black but her own dreamy hazel colour. "Although…since you have proved a worthy adversary, maybe I will give you a few hints. Do you remember what I said when we first met?"

"_Death stalks you…you have been aware of it since you were a child…death will find you, Protector…you must be ready for it…you must _stop_ it…or death will take the realm and all you hold dear…including the child you helped bring into this world…death is coming for you…_"

The words seemed to echo in her head, as if she were hearing them afresh. Kel shuddered slightly. "But…I don't think I have been aware that…_death_ is…I mean…" She stopped. She Shadow version of herself was gesturing to the lake.

Reluctantly, Kel stepped closer. Though there was now a brisk breeze, the surface of the lake remained perfectly still. But there were images playing out in that surface, ones that Kel knelt to see more clearly.

_The Yamani maid, who ran with her from the raiders, lying dead with an arrow in her back._

_Her mother standing, surrounded by dead men, blood on her glaive and fire in her eyes._

_A man, a bandit, clutching his belly as Kel released the spear she had just thrust into it._

_The centaur, spraying blood from the slit in his throat and the hole in his guts._

_A Scanran soldier, a stranger, crushed under Peachblossom's hooves._

_Stenmun, his skull crushed. Blayce, headless._

_Kerlan, dying slowly on the ground as he tried to keep his insides from falling out._

And so many more. Kel had not realised there had been so many.

"I still don't understand," she said finally, hoarsely, tearing her eyes away from the terrible images. "I still don't understand what you want from me. Why me?"

"You are the Protector of the Small. You bring death and yet also fight it. You are wise to the world and yet still so innocent of it in many ways. You were there at the thinning of the realms. You are perfect."

"Perfect for what?"

The Shadow Kel smiled at her. "You are perfect to carry the message. You are perfect...to be the one to kill a king."


	23. Sitting Around

**Aw, I felt so bad after leaving you with a short chapter last time, that here is a slightly longer one, especially for you all! :o) Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing that comes from the mind of Tamora Pierce. Worst luck.**

23

"Sir Nealan, I'm rather fond of that rug. It was a gift from the queen. I would hate to have to tell her the reason part of it has now been worn away."

The sardonic note in King Jonathon's voice made Neal stop his pacing. He had the grace to look sheepish. "I'm sorry sire."

Jonathon gave him a warm smile. "It's quite alright. I know how concerned you are." He turned back to Numair. "Well?"

The black light of his magic winked out and the tall mage straightened with a grimace. "It…it's hard to say. Last time I could sense whatever it was. Last time, it was obviously there. Now…" Numair shook his head. "Neal, are you _sure_ that you saw it enter Keladry?"

Neal nodded. "Positive. Unless it's left her again without anyone realising?"

"A possibility," conceded Numair. "But I still think we are better being on the safe side with this. What do you think, Jon?"

The King rubbed the back of his neck. "I'm not sure what I think. We don't even know…"

A small groan made him pause. All three men turned their gaze to the woman slumped in the chair.

Heart in his mouth, Neal watched his best friend's eyelids flutter groggily. As she regained full consciousness, Kel raised her head and took in her surroundings, her eyes widening as she made an unwelcome discovery.

They were hazel. _Her eyes are hazel_, thought Neal, half relieved and half perturbed. Maybe the Shadow _hadn't_ possessed her after all.

"What the…" Kel blinked and looked around, her eyes finding Numair, then Jonathon and finally, Neal. "Where…where are we? What's going on, why…"

"My private study in the Palace, Lady Knight," interrupted the King, his arms folded tightly. "We brought you here from your friend's house. You've been unconscious for some time. Would you care to explain to me why that might be?"

Neal winced inwardly at the tone in Jonathon's voice. He had already received a blistering lecture from his monarch. It seemed Kel would not get off without one either.

Mortification registered on Kel's face briefly, before she tucked it away behind her Yamani mask. "I disobeyed your orders sire. I allowed the Shadow to possess me, even though you expressly forbade me to. But I would do it again, under the circumstances." She held the King's piercing blue eyes firmly with her own.

_Gods' damn it!_ thought Neal crossly, _why couldn't I come up with something like that instead of turning into a blubbering wreck. I normally have lots to say, but the King gives me a reproving look and suddenly I'm like a five year old caught with my hand in the biscuit barrel!_

Numair was still standing beside Kel; continuing to examine her with his magic. "Never mind that for now. Keladry, what happened?"

She shook her head. "I…I don't know. The last thing I remember is standing in front of Lalasa and then…nothing…" Kel scowled and tugged at the ropes that lashed her wrists to the arms of the chair. "Is this _really_ necessary?"

Neal opened his mouth to protest that, _no,_ he didn't agree that it was, but he was cut off by the King. "Yes, I'm afraid so, Lady Knight. Until we know for sure what this creature is up to, and whether it has indeed taken over you, then you'll be staying put for a while. We already have seen what damage this Shadow can do when in possession of people. In control of a fully trained knight, well…let's just say I prefer to err on the side of caution. It's nothing personal." Jonathon turned to Numair. "If you haven't found anything, then we must go. I am scheduled to meet with the Scanran delegation this evening and you are required to be present as well. If all goes as it should tonight, then we will have our peace treaty signed and sealed."

"But, Jon, we can't just leave…"

"We are going to have to for now I'm afraid. I cannot afford to slight the delegation in anyway. You _know_ how fragile this treaty is looking, Numair." The King turned to Neal. "Sir Nealan, I'm charging you with taking care of Lady Knight Keladry. If all goes to plan, we should have finished the meeting by the final bell of the night. _Do not,_ under any circumstances, let her out of your sight or indeed out of that chair. I need nothing that will jeopardise these talks."

"But – "

"What – "

"That is an _order_," glowered Jonathon. "Something the two of you seem to have trouble following. I have been extremely lenient with you in the past, but I do not suffer being disobeyed at whim. Fail to do as I say again and it could have dire consequences." And with that he stalked out of the room.

Numair looked after him and shook his head. "Just…do as he says, Neal," said the mage, resting a hand on his shoulder. "Keladry…I am sorry about this. We'll try and be as quick as we can." He followed Jonathon out of the room, shutting the door quietly behind him.

It left the two of them staring, slightly open mouthed.

"Were they actually being _serious_?" Kel said finally, her eyebrows in danger of disappearing into her hairline.

Neal pulled up a chair of his own and sat down heavily. "I rather think they were. The King especially." He could feel his cheeks growing hot. "I'm sorry Kel, but I think…I think we're going to have to do as they say…"

"You'd think we disobeyed royal orders all the time," she muttered crossly. Wincing, Kel tried to shift position with little success. "Isn't this taking it all a bit far? I don't _feel_ possessed. Master Numair couldn't find anything. Surely there's no reason for me to be stuck here all evening?"

He couldn't quite bring himself to meet her eyes. "I think there are several good reasons actually. Dom, for starters."

Neal regretted that as soon as he said it. Up went Kel's defensive face, but he did not miss the pain in her eyes. Still, he needed to make her see.

"Kel, think about it this way. Even if the Shadow hasn't possessed you now, what's to say it won't come back and try again? Then we _would_ be in serious trouble."

Frowning, Kel replied, "But it could possess you just as easily, surely?"

Neal shrugged, "Numair did some more research. Apparantly, Nimari cannot enter those with the Gift. I'm not saying it's one hundred per cent fool proof, but you…you don't have the Gift Kel. You have no way of protecting yourself."

"So you have to protect yourself from me. That's irony for you," she said, somewhat bitterly.

There seemed to be nothing more to add. They sat in stony silence as the evening crept by.

xxx

"_Neal! Neal!"_

"_Give up, Lady Knight. He cannot hear you."_

"_He has to…you need to be stopped! This is madness!"_

"_Not madness. I told you…I am here to deliver a message."_

"_No you're not! You're…I don't believe it! It _can't _be true! You're not a messenger, you're some wicked creature that has escaped the Divine Realms or…or an evil spell from an enemy mage!"_

_The cackle that emanated from all around made Kel feel sick. "So naïve! I am of the Nightmare Folk. We are the children of Lord Ganiel himself. He uses us in times of great need, when no other mere messengers will do. We are the only ones who can possess a mortal to do his bidding. Therefore, Keladry of Mindelan, I am very, very important…"_

_That horrid laugh again. Kel put her hands to her ears, but could not block out the sound._

"…_but that does not mean that I have to be nice!"_

xxx

"Neal!"

He jerked away out of an uneasy doze. Kel rolled her eyes at him.

"Finally! You snore, did you know that?"

"Do not!" he slid upright in the chair. "Are they back yet?"

"No," she said. "And you really need to untie me."

Neal frowned. "Kel, you heard what the King said."

"Neal…my back is one big cramp, my hands are going numb and don't even get me started on what my backside is feeling like right about now. Besides," and here Kel paused to look slightly embarrassed. "I need to go."

"Need to go where?"

She sighed and closed her eyes momentarily. "Neal…I need to _go_. To the privy."

"Oh…" he felt himself start to blush. "Can't you hold on? It won't be much longer I'm sure."

"Neal I've _been_ holding on for the past hour or so. I _can't_ hold on much longer. Unless you want to go and ask a passing servant for a mop."

Now his cheeks were really burning. "Is it really that bad?"

"Yes!"

As he hesitated, Kel added, "Look, if you're that worried, untie me, I'll go, and then I'll sit back down, you can do the ropes back up and no one will be any the wiser. Come _on_ Neal, unless you know spells for healing ruptured bladders!"

"All right! Hold on for a moment!" Neal clambered to his feet and began fumbling with the knots that bound Kel's wrists and ankles to the chair. "There! I think there's actually a privy through that door there."

"Thank Mithros!" Kel sprang from the chair and ran through the door, slamming it behind her.

There was a moment of silence.

"Erm…Neal, could you whistle or hum or something please?" came a slightly muffled voice.

Neal couldn't help but chuckle. He began to hum a refrain from a popular song about the Goddess as loudly as he could.

After a few minutes the door creaked open again and a relieved looking Kel came out.

"Oh, that's better…" she grimaced and stretched her arms above her head.

"Kel, I think you really need to…"

"I will, I will! Just let me have a quick stroll about the room, I feel so stiff!" She began to walk about, flexing her arms and legs as much as possible, before stopping and touching her toes.

Neal sighed and walked over to her. "Kel, seriously now, we don't know what time the King will be back. You heard what he said earlier."

As Kel straightened up, Neal realised she was standing very close. They were practically nose-to-nose. "It'll be all right Neal, stop worrying." Neal edged back a little, but she stepped forward, keeping the distance between them close.

"Kel, what…"

"Do you remember, when we were in Lalasa's house, what the Shadow said?"

He blinked, confused. "It said plenty of things. Kel, really, you need to…"

"About me having a crush on you when we were pages."

_Oh…that thing!_ Neal could once more feel his cheeks going red. He ran a hand through his hair. "What about it? I assumed it was lying, to put us off guard…"

"It wasn't. I _did _have a crush on you. A big one. I used to dream of marrying you Neal. Of us walking down the aisle, settling down together once our fighting careers were over, having babies."

It dawned on Neal that something was very amiss. The Kel he knew, his best friend, would not be talking in such a manner. Would she? But her eyes were their usual hazel; they were still hazel…

"Kel, why…"

"Why am I telling you this now? Because I thought you should know. We're friends Neal, there should be no secrets between us. And I wanted to know…did you ever feel the same about me?"

_What?_ Kel was asking him this! His dearest, closest friend. He'd _never _thought about her like that, had he? The age gap between them seemed small now, but when they were pages it had been huge. She was ten and he was fifteen in that first year! She was the same age as his little sister…and that, he realised, is how he'd always seen her. As a little sister.

Except now she was like his not so little, very muscular, deadly sister who was _practically standing on top of him!_

A cold, solid mass was suddenly at his back. The wall.

"Did you, Neal? Did you ever feel the same?" whispered Kel. Her face was now so close to his that he could count the individual freckles that dotted her delicate nose. He could see each long eyelash that framed her dreamy hazel eyes. He could see her full lips part slightly and the gleam of her white teeth.

Craning his head back as far as it would go, without actually burrowing through the wall itself, Neal managed to croak, "No…I'm sorry Kel. I didn't. I don't. And now…Yuki…I love Yuki…my wife…"

A rueful smile twitched at those full lips. She cocked her head and placed a gentle hand on each side of his face.

"Oh Neal…I think she's always known that."

And before he could puzzle out the meaning of that, Kel's grip had suddenly tightened on his head. Before he could think to act, she had slammed his skull back into the wall with all of her strength.

As consciousness ebbed away from him, the last thing Neal remembered was the dreamy hazel eyes of his best friend suddenly turning black.


	24. The Message

**Well hello strangers! Sorry it has been so long! Hopefully there are still some people sticking with this story - reading and reviewing. Thank you if you are.**

**Hopefully we will be reaching a conclusion soon! Until that point, here is a fairly long (for me!) chapter for you that ends...I was hoping to say without a cliffhanger but I'm not sure. It's definately going to be a bit of a shock!**

**Enjoy and review please! Thanks! And as every, I own nothing you recognise from the POTS books.**

24

Robes billowing out behind him, Numair strode down the corridor, conscious of the time he and Jonathon had been held up in the talks. The sun had set a long time ago now and the last bell of the evening had sounded.

Still, reasoned Numair, they did not need him there anymore. His part in the talks was minimal, mainly so Jon could show off the fact Tortall had a black robe mage sitting on its council. The king was still holed up with the Scanran delegates, discussing the finer points of the treaty before it was all signed and sealed. With luck it should be done before midnight.

But Neal and Kel couldn't wait until midnight. They still needed answers and Numair was the one to help provide them…with luck.

_The whole thing is just so puzzling, _he mused to himself. _The possible presence of a Nimari; the strange message it has come to deliver; its fixation with Keladry. If lives were not being put at risk then it would make a fascinating study. _

Reaching the room where they had left Kel and Neal, Numair grasped the door handle and twisted.

It was locked.

Numair frowned. They hadn't left the door locked, had they? Maybe Neal had locked it after them, to be extra safe. "Sir Nealan? Lady Keladry? It's Numair. Let me in please."

No answer.

His frown deepening, Numair tried again. "Nealan? Keladry? Let me in!"

There was still no answer. Numair leant his ear to the door. Silence…until something gave a sort of muffled groan.

He straightened up quickly and placed his hand on the handle again. Black fire bloomed round his fingers and with a small puff of smoke the locked popped open. Numair pushed open the door cautiously, unsure of what he was going to find inside.

What he did see made his eyes widen. Numair checked the room to make sure nothing unexpected was going to jump out and greet him, before crossing quickly to the chair in the middle.

"Neal! Neal!" Numair knelt down, removing the handkerchief from the mouth of the slumped figure. He began frantically untying the knots that bound Neal to the chair. "Are you all right? What happened?"

The young knight seemed to be having problems focussing. "Kel," he said hoarsely. "Not Kel. Kel…she…it wasn't her…I let…she…it wasn't Kel…" His eyelids drooped.

Numair was no healer, but he recognised concussion when he saw it. The hair on the back of Neal's head was tacky with drying blood. Grasping the younger man by the shoulders, Numair let a little of his magic flow into him.

It seemed to do the trick, Neal's eyes opened fully. "Numair! Kel…the shadow had got her! She tricked me…I…." his white face flushed. "I untied her, just for a bit, she seemed fine but then…then she knocked me out…I don't know…I don't know where she's gone!"

Numair took a deep breath as the meaning of what had happened started to sink in. "I think I do. I hope I'm wrong. Come on!"

xxx

It had gotten very cold.

The edges of the lake had started to freeze over. The wind had died down, but frost sparkled in the grass. The sky overhead was a blank grey.

The ground crunched underfoot as the Lady Knight walked towards the prone form on the ground. It stirred feebly as she nudged it with a booted foot.

"You're still fighting me. I thought you gave me your word. Total control."

Kel sat up slowly. She noted that her breath did not show in the air here. _Because it's not real. It's not real. It's not…_

The Lady Knight crouched in front of her. "How many times must we go through this? It _is_ real in here. Just because this is happening in your head does not make it less real."

Painfully, Kel drew herself up onto her knees, wrapping her arms around herself. "I did…give you total control…what you did to Neal…" She had seen it, played out on the still lake before her; it was terrible, watching things she could not stop.

"Probably the worst thing that could happen to you, isn't it? To not be in control of your own actions. Hurting those people you care for."

Kel shut her eyes, but it made no difference. The image of herself was still there, mocking her.

"But you never give up, do you? _You are still fighting me Keladry!_ I told you, I need total control of you to deliver my message."

Opening her eyes again, Kel stared straight back into the dark ones before her. "That…was before I knew…it can't be true…you can't expect me to…let you…"

"To _let_ me?" There was that horrible laugh again. It was _her _laugh, twisted and evil, but still recognisably hers, which is what made it all the more worse. Kel shuddered as the creature went on, "I don't think you are in any position to be dictating matters Keladry. Look around. You are killing yourself. I am having to force my way in, because you are still fighting me and so you are _dying_. I thought you'd learn your lesson after our first encounter. But you fought me then. And then even when people around you were in danger, you still fought. And now…why?"

_Why?_ Kel could feel her energy draining away. _Because you are evil. I don't believe the gods would send you. There must be other ways of passing messages and giving warnings? And so I will keep fighting you until one of us is dead. Because it's right. _

"So noble," the Lady Knight shook her head, as Kel slumped to the ground once more. "You make it difficult, even for a black hearted creature such as myself, Lady Keladry. You wish to know more? You wish to know why? I will show you. Look upon the lake."

It was mere inches away from where she was lying, but the distance seemed huge. Digging her fingertips into the frozen earth, Kel dragged herself to the edge of the water and looked at the scenes playing out before her.

And as she watched, it became clear. And she finally knew the right thing to do.

And so Kel gave in. Totally.

xxx

"And so are we agreed, gentlemen?"

King Jonathon looked around at the Scanran delegates before him. He knew that most people expected Scanrans to be mindless savages, wielding war-axes and wearing fur, but the delegates were much more genteel. They wore well-made leather tunics after the fashion of their people and spoke excellent Common.

"I think we are finally agreed, your Majesty," said the chief delegate, a small man who nevertheless commanded great respect from the others. Jon had a sneaking suspicion that once the clan leaders sat down to choose a new king, this man would be in the running.

"Very good. Baron Mindelan, have you finished looking through the paperwork?"

It had not escaped Jon's attention that the Lady Knight's father was heavily involved in the peace talks with Scanra. He seemed to have no knowledge of the antics of his youngest daughter, however, and Jon was not of a mind to fill him in at this precise moment. It would not do to worry him unduly and besides, it was Keladry's business if she wanted to tell her parents, not his.

Piers of Mindelan looked up from the parchment he was checking, his hazel eyes so very like Keladry's. "I can see nothing awry with this agreement, sire. Indeed, I think we would be hard pushed to find a more solid treaty."

Jon smiled at the short man. "Then it must be solid indeed. Well then, if there are no more points to raise, I suggest we finally put this business to bed, as it were."

As he was reaching for the quill and inkpot, a new voice rang out. "I have a point to raise!"

All the heads sprang up and looked in the direction of Lady Knight Keladry of Mindelan, who strode into the room, a loaded crossbow in her hands. She kicked the door shut behind her.

As Jon got to his feet, he did not miss the gasp from Piers beside him. "Kel! What…"

The King's heart was starting to thump alarmingly. He had a sinking feeling he knew what was going on. "Lady Knight, would you care to explain yourself?"

The smile given by Keladry made the flesh along his spine crawl. She vaulted onto the end of the table, where from the raised height she had a good view of everyone in the room. "I would love to You Majesty, although I think you already know some of the details. So I will skip straight to the point."

"King Jonathon, what is the meaning of this?" said one of the Scanran delegates, also rising to his feet.

"I wouldn't, if I were you," said Kel. "My king and my father here will tell you how good I am with a series of weapons. A crossbow is no different. Unless you want to test my skill?" The man hurriedly sat down again.

"Kel…what's wrong with her eyes?" the words left Piers in a whisper.

"An explanation, if you would, Lady Knight," said Jonathon, reaching a casual hand into his pocket and squeezing the jewel concealed in there. There were no weapons allowed in peace talks, but that did not mean a monarch did not have to be careful. The jewel would summon his guards. But would they get here in time to stop anything?

"I'm here to kill a king."

The words fell into a dead silence. Jonathon swallowed, careful to let none of his shock show on his face. "Well. I see. And what have I done that has so offended you, My Lady?"

The laugh that emanated from the Lady Knight's throat made several of the men in the room shudder. "Not you, Your Majesty. Not this time. I'm here for King Maggur."

Several voices exclaimed all at once, until Kel raised the crossbow. "_Silence!_"

A hush fell, apart from the lead Scanran delegate who was brave enough to climb to his feet. "You are insane! King Maggur was killed by your Lioness. It was seen by many people. You, I believe, were there were you not, Lady Keladry?"

Of course she was there, thought Jonathon, she was the one who was being rescued by the Lioness and others from Maggur's clutches.

"So how…"continued the delegate, "could King Maggur be in this room?"

"I think those who knew Maggur would not believe him stupid enough to sit back and let Lady Alanna kill him. He had plans in place for such an event. Fake his death. Disguise himself. Worm his way into peace talks in Tortall. A perfect opportunity to kill King Jonathon and take over the country he most despises and bring it to ruin."

The door slowly creaked open and several Palace guards, armed with bows themselves, entered the room. Jonathon raised a hand in a signal. _Wait._

"Maggur needs to be stopped." If Kel had noticed the gaurds enter the room, she gave no sign. Instead she kept her eyes fixed on the chief delegate. "He is a man who has condoned the perversion of life by the false mage Blayce the Gallan. He is a man who has enslaved thousands upon thousands. And now he flaunts all the ancient laws of peace by sneaking into a country which strives to make the world a better place. He must be stopped. Even the gods recognise this. And I have been sent to do it."

The tension in the room was growing by the second. Jon's arm started to tremble with it. _Wait._

"This is a very serious allegation, Lady Knight. Can you prove it?"

She raised an eyebrow. "Prove it? Of course."

And before anyone could react, she had swung the crossbow up and loosed the bolt at the lead delegate.

Time both froze and sped up, if that were even possible. As the bolt entered the chest of the Scanran, several things happened all at once.

Jonathon started to sprint towards the Lady Knight, closely followed by Piers. The other Scanrans in the room gave cries of shock and horror, several leaping from their chairs.

The door flew open again as Numair and Neal crashed into the room.

Keladry span to face the door, the crossbow still in her hands.

And though Jon knew his mouth was open and that he was shouting, he could not hear any words coming out.

And the bows in the hands of the guards seemed to move of their own accord, the arrows leaving them simultaneously to thud into the flesh of the young woman still standing on the table.

As they did, a large black _shadow_ seemed to leave her body, flying upwards into the ceiling and vanishing.

Jon skidded to a halt, instinctively spinning to catch Piers before he could go any further, in a desperate attempt to shield the man from the sight of his daughter falling from the table to land in a crumpled heap on the floor. As he did so, the King saw the body of the Scanran delegate sliding to the ground, his appearance melting and changing as he did so. Jonathon had never seen Maggur with his own eyes, but he would bet half his kingdom that the dead man before him was the Scanran King.

_She was right,_ Jon thought numbly. _She was right._

He was so stunned by this sight that he barely felt Piers fight from his grip.

The room seemed to return to normal speed, bringing new sounds crashing down onto his ears.

"Kel! _Kel?_"

"No! Oh please no!"

Heavily, Jonathon turned to the scene on the ground before him.

Piers was patting his daughter's face gently, whispering something incoherent at her. Numair was trying to restrain Neal, who was trying to force his healing powers into his friend.

As King Jonathon moved closer, he saw the arrows buried deep in the chest and sides of Lady Knight Keladry of Mindelan, blood staining the tunic she wore. He saw the stillness of the hand that even now gripped the crossbow.

But most of all, he saw her face. How pale it was and the expression on it, as if she'd woken from a bad dream into an even worse one.

And her eyes, already glazing over, that seemed fixed on his face.

They were hazel.


	25. Visitors

**Apologies once again for the delay and for leaving you on such a cliffhanger last time. This is possibly the penultimate or close enough chapter - not a terribly long one I'm afraid, but rather important.**

**Thanks to everyone still reading and reviewing! :o) **

_25_

She had to wake up. She had to. There was no question of it. She had to wake up.

"Neal, please. There's nothing you can do." Numair's restraining hands were still tight on his upper arms, stopping him from trying to heal his friend, his best friend, who was lying on the floor…

_No. No, she can't be._

But she was. Neal sagged and Numair's grip loosened.

Neal tore his gaze away from Kel and looked around the room. The palace guards were busy restraining the remaining Scanran delegates. The man who Kel had shot, apparently the Scanran king Maggur, inconceivably back from the dead and now definitely _very_ dead, was still slumped half in, half out of his chair, frozen gaze fixed on nothing.

But Neal could not bring himself to care about this. He turned his head to look at Baron Piers of Mindelan, who was simply sat, expressionless, stroking his daughter's hair.

That was too painful. Neal looked up at Numair and King Jonathon.

The King's face was white. "Sir Nealan…I…I don't know what to say. I'm…"

A sudden anger swept through him. "There's nothing to say Sire. She's gone. And there's no helping her now."

Jonathon's shoulders slumped. Numair laid a hand on his arm. "Jon there's no way you could have known…"

"It doesn't matter now," Neal said softly, finally looking down at Kel. He couldn't bear her lifeless eyes staring back at him, almost accusingly, so he leant over and gently closed them. Her skin was already growing cold; the blood leaking from where the arrows were sticking out of her flesh had stopped.

And she was gone. Dead. Neal raised his head again and found himself staring into a pair of familiar hazel eyes – only these belonged to Piers. The man was looking at him with the same lost and hopeless feeling that was tying Neal's stomach into painful knots. A warm trickling feeling started on his cheeks.

"Neal." Numair's voice was soft. "Come away. We should move her somewhere more…"

"_No!_" he shouted. "It shouldn't have happened like this!" He was crying in earnest now. "She was the best of us and it shouldn't have ended like this!"

Opposite him, Piers had closed his eyes. His face was carefully impassive to anyone who was not familiar with the Yamani trick of hiding one's feelings. Neal…who had seen that expression so many times on Kel…Neal saw the cracks showing. The man was close to breaking down.

Neal was already broken. "Why did this happen? I want to know!" He raised his face to the ceiling and bellowed. "Why? Why did it have to happen to _her_?"

A bright light filled the air in the room, overtaking everything. When it faded, two new figures stood in front of them. One was a tall man with grey hair and dark, unfathomable eyes. The other a beautiful woman with emerald eyes.

Confusion surged through Neal, but Numair gave a small gasp.

"Lord Ganiel," he said bowing his head at the grey haired man. "It is a pleasure to meet you again my lord. And…My Lady."

Momentarily speechless, Neal looked at the two figures – who could only be the Dream King and the Great Mother Goddess. King Jonathon and Numair knelt before them. Neal was already on the floor and Piers…well Neal didn't think Piers had registered anything other than his daughter lying on the floor…

Another wave of anger swept through Neal and he got to his feet, looking straight into those bottomless black eyes. "Do you see what you have done? What do you have to say for yourself?"

"Nealan…" hissed Jonathon, looking horrified.

But Neal wouldn't be budged. Gods or no gods, he wanted answers. "Well?" he insisted, folding his arms.

Ganiel looked back at him sadly, before inclining his head towards the Goddess. She gave him a smile and addressed Neal. "My brother is sorry, he cannot speak to mortals except through dreams so I will serve as his translator." She paused as she listened to the silent words in her head, her green gaze fixed upon the body of the Lady Knight. "My brother apologises for the way this situation was…handled. He had been tasked with delivering Lady Knight Keladry her missions."

Neal blinked. "What…wait? You mean the Chamber of the Ordeal?"

The Goddess nodded and then listened again. "Yes. Who do you think operates the Chamber? Tortall is so important to our work in this realm, we cannot leave the choosing of its knights to random. Lady Knight Keladry was the purest of heart, which is why she was given an extra task at her Ordeal. However, her task did not end as simply as everyone thought and the man who condoned the perversion of life, who tried to spread his hatred, was still alive."

"But…how?" said Neal weakly. "The Lioness had killed…"

"Not Maggur, but a simulacrum. The real Maggur had escaped through a secret tunnel as soon as the battle in the castle commenced. Even Alanna, in the heat of battle, was fooled by it. An emergency plan Maggur had for years kicked in. A mage on his council disguised him with magic and it was of little work for him to infiltrate the peace talks." The Goddess waved a hand and the peace treaty that had almost been signed wafted over. She snatched it out of the air and presented it to Jonathon, still kneeling on the ground.

He took it, hand shaking slightly, and frowned as the writing on it glowed and changed. As he read the new words, his eyes widened.

"What does it say?" asked Numair.

"It essentially signed the realm of Tortall over to Maggur. Hard to dispute with the royal seal placed at the bottom," commented the Goddess.

"I don't…"whispered Jonathon, "How could we have not seen…?"

"Why didn't you warn us before it got so close?" asked Numair, sounding angry himself for the first time now.

The Goddess looked sad. "We gods have…rules to follow about interfering in mortal affairs. There are things we can't do. But we can send warnings."

At this Ganiel shifted his feet and looked a little sheepish. The Great Goddess placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "Nimari have been used in the past as messengers, brother, with no ill effects. You were not to know the one you sent this time would turn out to be a rogue." Ganiel gave her a glance and she sighed. "Still, we realise the pain and the uncertainty this has caused and my brother has come to apologise."

That was not enough for Neal. "I think it's gone a bit beyond apology, don't you?" He gestured to the distraught man on the floor; at the body of his dearest friend.

Ganiel sighed and looked pleadingly at the Great Goddess. She grimaced and turned her face upwards, closing her eyes. "Well? What say you in this?" The room was once again bathed in a warm light and the Goddess smiled. "Then it appears we may have the answer you are looking for."

The light intensified once more until Neal was forced to close his eyes. When he had sensed it finally darkened behind his eyelids, he opened them to find the gods gone.

Bewildered and heartsick, Neal turned around.

Just as Kel gave a gasp and sat upright.


	26. Reunion

**Yes, that's right! I did kill Kel and then bring her back to life. Why? Because I can! Muahaha! Ahem...**

**Anyway thanks for the reviews lovely readers. And continue to enjoy.**

**Oh and because I haven't done this for a while, any characters or traits you recognise don't belong to me but Tamora Pierce. I have simply borrowed them for a bit.**

26

For a long moment the room was perfectly quiet. No one moved, except the woman who, seconds before, had been so still.

Kel's face was very white, but animated with as many expressions as Neal had ever seen on her. She blinked and ran her hands down the front of her tunic, pausing at the rips in the fabric which inexplicably showed only clean unbroken skin.

Astonishment gave way to a kind of relief as Kel looked around the room at the men standing around her, staring unabashedly with their mouths open. Turning her head, she registered the man who was kneeling next to her.

"Papa? You…how…?"

The Yamani calm on the man's face vanished in an instant as he enveloped his daughter in a hug, weeping into her hair.

xxx

"Neal, for the thousandth time…I'm _fine_!"

Neal gave Kel a sceptical look. "Mindelan, how is it, whenever you're injured you magically become the world's most knowledgeable healer?"

Kel sighed and allowed her friend to continue examining her. In truth she _wasn't _fine, but it would take wild horses before she would admit that to Neal, who seemed to be on the verge of some sort of breakdown. In fact, everyone in the room she had regained consciousness in had been acting very strangely…

"Are you going to fill me in on what happened yet?" Kel asked.

Neal paused and she gave another sigh. After the Shadow had finally told her that Maggur was still alive and in Tortall, Kel had given over to it completely. Everything after that was blackness, until there had been a sensation of great pain, confusing images and then a rushing light. She had floated in some sort of peaceful limbo for…minutes? A day? Years? ...until a soft voice had whispered nearby…

"_For you, sister. This once. Do not make a habit of it. And tell our brother to be more careful with choosing his messengers in future."_

And suddenly she had been falling through blackness and, like after a bad dream, had jerked awake to find Neal, Numair, Jonathon and her father staring at her as if she were a ghost.

"So…?" Kel prompted again.

Neal looked hard at her for a moment, before shaking his head with a crooked smile. "You came in, shot Maggur and then passed out. You gave everyone a bit of a fright. That's all."

That wasn't all, Kel knew. It didn't quite explain her father's worrying reaction or the holes in her clothes which were ringed with drying blood. But Kel also knew it was all she was going to get out of Neal for the time being.

There was one thing she _needed_ to know. "It's gone? The Shadow? It's over?"

Neal smiled at her. "Yes. We're pretty sure it has. You fulfilled the task it wanted."

"Thank goodness," she breathed, shoulders slumping.

Suddenly Kel was enveloped in a warm hug. "Don't ever frighten us like that again, Mindelan. All right?"

"All right," agreed Kel, slightly muffled into the front of Neal's tunic. She was beginning to feel a bit breathless from all these hugs. First her father had to be physically pried off of her, then Neal swooped in, to be replaced by Master Numair and then…

Kel cringed slightly as she remembered the awkward silence after the King had hugged her.

Neal immediately released her. "What's wrong, where does it hurt?"

"_Nowhere_ Neal, for the last time, I'm…"

Kel was interrupted by a loud knocking on the door of the examination room. The anxious face of a young healer poked around the door.

"Excuse me, Sir Nealan, Lady Keladry, but…you're needed down the hall."

Neal and Kel looked at each other, before leaving the room at a trot.

xxx

Dom's face was still too pale and there were huge dark rings around his eyes, but he was sitting up in bed smiling wanly at them.

Kel stood back as she watched Neal and Dom talking to each other, giving the cousins some space. In truth, she felt a bit like an imposter at a family reunion, and was thinking of an excuse to edge her way out of the door, when Dom looked up at her.

"Kel!" he said, holding his hand out. "Been getting into all sorts of trouble without me to keep an eye on you, I hear?"

That forced a weak grin from her as she stepped forward and took his hand. It felt bony and clammy in her overly warm grip.

"Here," said Neal, pulling a chair up. Kel flopped gratefully into it, telling herself she was being polite in bringing herself down to Dom's eye level. It had absolutely nothing to do with the fact her legs felt like jelly all of a sudden.

"How are you feeling?" Kel asked, her voice a little husky.

"Terrible," confessed Dom. "But apparently the healers say I'm on the mend now my fever's gone down. My…my legs…" Here he stopped as if unable to go on.

The sight of easy-going, carefree Dom having trouble getting his words out raised a lump in Kel's throat. It was Neal who continued talking.

"I spoke with the healer outside. He said that your left leg will be as good as new once the bone's knitted together. Your right leg…wasn't as bad as they thought it was at first, thank the gods, but it might never be as good as it was. Only time will tell that."

Kel just stared at Dom as he nodded at Neal and cleared his throat. "So, there you have it. Could have been worse."

It could have been; Kel knew that. But this was still bad. "Dom…I'm…I'm so sorry. This was all my fault. It should be me in that bed. Not you. If I could switch places with you…"

"No Kel!" barked Dom, startling her with his heat. "Don't even think it. It wasn't your fault. None of this was. So don't go blaming yourself for it. Understand?" Mute, she nodded back at him and his tone softened. "It wasn't your fault Kel. So don't be sorry. Don't…"

And it was only then she realised that Dom was crying and so was she. Kel leant forward and laid her head on his chest as he stroked her hair.

Unnoticed, Neal crept out of the room.


	27. Epilogue

**Well, dear readers, here we have it. Finally the last chapter. I hope it doesn't disappoint - it's a nice long one with NO cliffhanger. And a bit of soppiness, just for you guys. Thanks once again go to everyone who has been reading, reviewing and adding this as a favourite. **

**As ever I own none of the characters from Tamora Pierce's mind. Happy reading!**

_Epilogue – 6 months later_

Dom paused at the bottom of the hill, sweat running into his eyes. He leant forward, hands on knees and gasped for breath.

"Come on Masbolle! No pain, no gain!"

Cursing through gritted teeth, Dom steeled himself and started to trot up the hill. The worst part was, a few months ago he wouldn't have thought twice about something like this. Now, it took every ounce of strength to make it to the top.

But make it he did, although he was staggering like a drunkard. A strong pair of hands reached out to brace him as he caught his breath.

"Not bad. You've managed to half your time since last week."

"Oh…good…" Dom panted. "Does…this…mean…I…can…sit down…now?"

A pair of hazel eyes smiled at him. "Well you can…but we do need to walk back to the palace."

He glared at Kel for a moment, as she looked back at him with a perfectly innocent expression. "You can really go off people, you know that?"

That won him a grin as she offered her arm. Grumbling, Dom took it and attempted to walk without limping as they made their slow way back.

The air was growing cold and Dom could feel the sweat cooling on his back. He breathed in deeply, revelling in the late afternoon and the colours the leaves on the trees were turning.

"Thank you," he said suddenly.

"What for?" Kel looked sideways at him, raising her eyebrows in the way that reminded him of Raoul. He suppressed a chuckle.

"For being you. For never giving up."

For a long time she didn't reply. When she did, she said, "Pig-headed you could call it. I don't know any other way to be."

This time Dom really did chuckle. "Ever modest, Lady Knight. I mean it though. Thank you."

Was it the crisp air making her cheeks take on a pink tinge? Dom rather thought it wasn't. "It's the least I can do. After…"

The smile died from his lips. She still blamed herself for the things that happened after Neal's wedding. Never mind that she had risked her own life to try and stop others from being hurt. That she had been used as an unwitting tool of the gods. That she had once more stopped Tortall from being taken over by King Maggur.

No, Kel was still racked with guilt at what had happened to him. She had made it her personal mission to ensure that he made it back to full health. Or as close as possible.

"The healers say my leg is definitely on the mend. Although it is officially half an inch shorter than the other one now, so I'll always have a bit of a jaunty walk. I think it will make me more attractive to the ladies."

Kel's grin seemed a little forced this time. Dom continued, "And thanks to you, I'll be back to work for the Own in no time. I'm thinking of this as a sort of extended holiday…or I was until you started making me run miles every day."

"Hardly miles," Kel rolled her eyes. "You should have seen how far Lord Wyldon used to make us run when we were pages!"

The easy banter continued between them until they reached the Own's quarters.

Dom was fitting his key into the lock of his rooms, when Kel leant nonchalantly against the wall and said, casually, "It's the first of the autumn season balls tonight."

He nodded, "And…"

She shrugged. "I just wondered if you'd be going, now you're better."

"Maybe," Dom smiled. "I hadn't really thought about it, to be honest. Anyway, I thought you hated balls?"

"Common misconception," Kel answered. "I have never hated balls. I hate being made to attend balls against my will, but I rather like the ones I can choose to attend. They can be fun."

He laughed. "Well in that case I will probably see you there."

"Okay, great. I…well…see you there then…"

And with that, she was gone.

Dom stood at his door for a moment, watching Kel's retreating back, when a voice behind him made him jump.

"You really can't see what's before your eyes, can you Limpy?"

Turning to face Neal, Dom scowled, "That nickname is both unfeeling and insulting, Meathead!"

"Makes us on even terms then," his cousin grinned at him. "Anyway, I came to ask you if you were going to be attending the ball tonight, but it appears a certain Lady Knight beat me to it."

"So it appears," Dom crossed his arms. "What are you getting at?"

Neal gave him a smile that was both mocking and filled with pity. "If you're too dense to work it out for yourself, Limpy, then I am not going to spell it out for you. I will say, however, stop and think about all those court ladies you have been drooling over. How many of them would have stood by you for so long and through so much?"

And with that, Neal also walked off, leaving Dom thinking furiously.

xxx

It turned out that being a battle-hardened knight and growing up in the Yamani court did not make you immune to turning to goo when presented with a laughing baby.

"Tickle, tickle, tickle!" giggled Kel, unable to stop herself as Kellan responded with his gurgling chuckle. "Ooooh….tickle, tickle, tickle!"

Lalasa smiled, "He does love seeing you My Lady. He'd been grizzly all morning but brightened up as soon as he realised where we were coming today."

"Well, the feeling is certainly mutual," replied Kel, holding Kellan up over her head as he squealed in delight. "And thank you for coming on such short notice."

"Any time, you know that. There we go…" Lalasa snipped the last piece of thread. "I think that should do it. Try it on and once I've double checked it, we'll leave you to finish getting ready."

Swapping baby for dress, Kel ducked behind her dressing screen and slipped into the gown.

As she came out Lalasa's smile widened even more. "Beautiful. If Sergeant Domitan doesn't notice you in that, then he is probably not worth the bother, My Lady."

Kel could feel her cheeks growing warm. "Is there anyone in Tortall who doesn't know?"

Lalasa laughed, "Well if you will tell Sir Nealan these things…"

"Good point," Kel sighed. She gave Kellan a last tickle under the chin as Lalasa left with her son and her sewing basket. Once she had seen them safely out, Kel turned back to getting herself ready for the ball.

Half an hour later, she stood in front of the mirror and appraised her work. This dress, at least, did not make her look like a cupcake. It was her favourite russet red colour, modestly cut, but doing a good job of highlighting her meagre curves and making her waist look a little smaller. She had been letting her hair grow again in the last few months and had put it in curlers, so the gentle ringlets just brushed her shoulders, drawing attention away from how broad they were. A few subtle hair clips with the barest touch of cheek and lip colour set the look off.

"Don't scrub up too bad," muttered Kel, giving her skirts a swish. She may not break too many hearts tonight, but there was only one she had in her sights anyway.

Pounding on her door made her heart speed up. Kel almost tripped over her skirts in her haste, righting herself just in time and giving herself a mental telling off for turning into a swooning girl.

Neal gave her a wolf-whistle as she opened the door. Yuki thwacked him round the back of the head with her fan. "For shame Nealan, whistling at other women when you have a baby on the way!"

Kel grinned down at her Yamani friend, who was standing with her hands clasped over the tiny bump at her stomach, looking stunning as ever in a jade kimono.

Her eyes scanned the corridor.

"Not too sure where Dom's got to." Neal was giving her a searching look, as if waiting for her reaction. "But he'll probably meet us in there."

"Ok, not a problem," said Kel, too brightly, closing the door behind her. As they made their way to the banquet hall, she kept telling herself that she was not going to let anything spoil what was her first party in ages. _I am going to enjoy myself tonight, Domitan or no Domitan. _

But she could not stop herself from constantly searching the hall for a familiar blue-eyed face.

"What?" she realised Neal had been speaking to her for the last five minutes and she hadn't heard a word of it.

He shook his head despairingly. "I said, do you realise that several eligible bachelors in this hall have been gawping at you from the moment you walked in?"

Kel squinted into his cup, "Is that punch alcoholic?"

"Of course it is Mindelan, but that's got nothing to do with it. You have got to stop putting yourself down. You are an amazing woman and attractive as well."

Kel rolled her eyes, "I hadn't been aware I'd been putting myself down recently. And thanks for the pretend compliment, Neal."

He frowned at her. "That's what I mean. It wasn't a pretend compliment. There are many men who would love to make a move towards courting you. If anything, I think they're scared of your friends."

"What?" Kel's eyebrows shot up.

Neal shifted his feet and looked a bit uncomfortable. "We have been a bit…overprotective of you in the past years. Maybe we've managed to scare off too many suitors."

Kel stared at him for a while. Neal couldn't meet her eyes.

It was too much. Kel's Yamani calm evaporated as she burst out laughing.

"Oh Neal…" Kel managed finally, wiping her eyes on her finger. "Have I ever told you, you're really sweet sometimes?"

Neal grinned sheepishly.

"I can think of many adjectives to describe Neal. 'Sweet' is certainly not one that springs to mind too regularly," drawled a familiar voice behind her.

Kel turned to give Dom a snappy reply, but felt the words die in her mouth as she saw just how handsome he looked in a royal blue tunic.

"Lady Knight," he said, giving her a gallant bow. "It is rather stuffy in here. I wonder if I could bother you to come with me for some air."

Recovering her composure, Kel ignored the frantic elbow of Neal jabbing her in the ribs and replied, "But of course Sergeant Domitan. It would be my pleasure."

Taking his arm as they walked towards the veranda, Kel noticed Dom was limping less than he had been – although his walk was indeed "jaunty".

A clear sky overhead blazed with stars as their breath clouded in the cold night air. The two of them found a quiet spot overlooking the gardens and leant on a wall.

"I didn't think you were coming," she said, quietly.

"At such short notice, it took me a while to find something decent enough to wear," said Dom, smiling at her in the moonlight. "I didn't want to show you up."

"How thoughtful," quipped Kel, grinning.

They were quiet for a little while, enjoying the peace of the gardens from the noise of the ball.

"It's a bit chilly out here," sighed Kel, eventually. "We should probably go back in."

"Probably," agreed Dom. "There's just one more thing before we do."

And he gently took Kel's face in his hands and kissed her.

Before, with Cleon, Kel had liked kissing. It filled her body with warmth and tingling. With Dom's lips against hers though, it was a completely different sensation. Her legs turned to jelly. Her spine felt as though it was melting. She lost all control over her arms.

As Dom let her go, Kel grabbed the wall for support. She stared at him, wide-eyed.

He was looking back at her frankly, his cheeks redder than usual. "Well…say something."

Her jaw moved up and down for a while, before she finally croaked out, "Why?"

"Not really the response I was expecting," said Dom with a half-choked laugh. "Let's just say…I realised what was before my eyes. It's taken a lot for me to do so – Meathead will tell you that I'm perhaps not the quickest off the mark – but I think I've been making a mistake with what I thought was just simple friendship."

Kel's mind had gone momentarily blank after that kiss. Now however, an unwelcome thought bubbled to the surface, "Making a mistake? Dom, you're not doing this because of what…what happened?"

"No!" he said. And then paused. "Well…partly. Not in the way you think though…"

She was still babbling, "Because I know what was said before the thing with the Shadow all kicked off and I know how you felt before and after a traumatic event sometimes it can mess with your head, Goddess knows I know that as well as anyone else and I don't want this to be something that – "

Dom kissed her again. "Gods Kel," he said finally, when he broke away and all she could do was hang limply in his arms. "For someone raised in the Yamani court you sometimes do an awful lot of talking."

He was right. She sounded like an idiot. Pulling herself together, Kel stood upright and took a step back from him to look him properly in the face. He _seemed_ sincere. "What's changed? Before…there was the age gap, the fact you saw me just as a friend and your career with the Own. What's different now?"

"A lot has happened since then. It made me think…for a moment I realised I may not _have_ a career with the Own any more. And at first that made me as low as could be, until I stopped and really thought about it. It wasn't the end of the world. There were plenty of other things I could do and…" he paused and took Kel's hand. "That wasn't even the most important part. I realised that there has been something missing this whole time. Love isn't about looks and courtly glamour." He looked horrified as he realised what he had said, "Not that you're not – "

Kel smiled at him, "It's alright Dom. Go on."

He huffed a sigh of relief. "Love is about sticking with someone through thick and thin. About caring for each other even when it isn't glamorous. About wanting to protect the person you love more than anything else. And I realised…that's what the two of us have been doing all along. When Neal told me what happened, that we'd almost lost you, I couldn't imagine a life without you. It broke my heart even thinking about it." Dom looked at her, but Kel was making sure her face was now perfectly blank, not wanting him to see her boiling emotions. "As for the Own…I'm not talking marriage or anything as serious as that. Not yet. I don't think that's what either of us wants at the moment. But…what I'm really trying to say, Keladry of Mindelan, is will you allow me to court you?"

Kel looked down. This is what she'd wanted for so long now. She should be jumping for joy. But she couldn't bring herself to quite believe it yet. "Dom…are you sure? Are you sure you're now not confusing simple friendship for something…more? I know Neal has been trying to push you into this, and maybe if I hadn't said anything to him…"

"Kel, please."

"No, let me finish," Kel shook her head. "I know how fickle love can be…or what we mistake for love. I don't want to wake up a few months down the line only to find you've realised you want someone more…conventional…"

Gentle fingers raised her chin, making her eyes meet his. "If I'm being brutally honest with you Kel, I can't say that won't happen. But I think if you're being honest as well, you can't say you won't wake up in a few months' time and realise that you don't want me either. No one can predict the future. I've only just worked these feelings out myself, so all I can say is…we give it a shot. What do you think?"

As Kel gazed back into those blue eyes, she thought about it. She thought about how Dom was always honest with her. She thought about how smitten she'd been with him from the first time she'd laid eyes on him. She thought about everything they had been through together and their friendship that had never waned. And maybe…maybe that's what love really was.

He was still waiting for her answer. "Kel? What do you think?"

She smiled at him, unreservedly and with a heart bursting with happiness. "Dom…it's more than I could have hoped for."

Kel was still smiling as he leaned in for another kiss.

**Told you it was going to be soppy. What can I say? I'm in that sort of mood tonight apparently. Anyway, hopefully you have enjoyed the story! With luck I shall be back soon!**

**Sam :o) **


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